Raleigh, Charlotte Tigers Beat Fort Hunt
Virginia HS club Fort Hunt took a trip to North Carolina over the weekend and returned with plenty of things to work on, as the #3-ranked Warriors lost to the Raleigh Redhawks and Charlotte Tigers.
On Saturday night, the Redhawks took on the Warriors. The narrow pitch required physical play and restricted the ability of the wings to get loose, but the Redhawks didn’t shy away from the contact and prevailed 21-7. Fort Hunt rarely threatened, and the Redhawks controlled the match with good structure on both sides of the ball.
HS Boys Games Feb 8-10
Big weekend early in the season for some, and the middle of it all for others.
In Florida, Jacksonville and Sarasota, tow up-and-coming teams, clash.
Jacksonville coach Aaron Church likes the athleticism and unity of his team, noting that he only graduated three players from last year's team. It's a senior-heavy squad, and powerful.
"We're definitely prepping these kids for the next level to play," said Church, who played at Arkansas State.
Both Sarasota and Jacksonville are unbeaten, and this will be the fourth away game in a row.
In North Carolina, Providence and upstart North Broughton remain unbeaten. They don't meet in the regular season, so it'll be interesting to see who shows better.
USA Players, Coaches, Visit HS Game
Gary Gold and his Men's Eagles team practiced in Fort Lauderdale, FL before journeying to South America for the Americas Rugby Championship tournament. On Saturday, Jan 26, Head Coach Gary Gold, Team Manager Chris Hanson, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Huw Bevan, flyhalf A.J. MacGinty, and Marcel Brache (serving as Eagles Captain with Blaine Scully out with injury) traveled to Sharks Field in Jupiter, FL to watch a high school match between the Jupiter Sharks and the Boca Raton Junior Buccaneers.
Before kick-off, Gold addressed the players, coaches and the parents with words of encouragement for youth rugby in the USA. MacGinty and Brache chatted with the reserve players on the sideline during the match, which left quite an impression on the young ruggers.
Charlotte Tigers Beat S. Greenville In MSIRL
The 2018 Mid-South Independent Rugby League season ended with an epic cup final between South Greenville and the Charlotte Tigers, a game South Greenville won in double overtime, so it seemed appropriate to open the season with these two teams going at it.
The two two powerhouse high school clubs from North and South Carolina kicked off the MSIRL this past weekend with the Tigers making the trip from Charlotte to Greenville on a rare dry and sunny Carolina Saturday to take on the defending champs on their home pitch. Both teams had key players graduate at the end of last season, but the Tigers had more returning veterans and it showed.
Devezin Hat-Trick Leads Etowah to Victory
Rugby Georgia concluded it’s 2nd week with a pair of competitive matches at the U19 level.
Etowah River Valley RFC took on East Cobb RFC on Friday evening at Roswell Park. Etowah opened the scoring as Loose-Head Kenny West muscled his way for the first try of the game and a 7-0 lead. East Cobb answered as No. 8 Carson Dahl, returning to action after extensive shoulder rehab, scored from 15 meters out with some slick moves to close the gap 7-5.
This is when flanker Raymone Devezin took over. Devezin used both size and speed to maneuver his way from 30 meters out to expand ERV’s lead to 12-5 prior to the break.
EIRA Launches Club Initiative In Sacramento
TEMPE, AZ – Monday February 3rd 2019 - Eagle Impact Rugby Academy (EIRA), is about to pilot a club venture with Granite Bay Rugby Club in Sacramento, California. The goal is to bring EIRA’s methodology to the club level and provide an environment aligned to best practices under the banner of EIRA Club Sacramento.
Granite Bay, former National Invitational Club winners 2016, has a lot of good things already in place. They have boys’ teams from u10s through varsity high school and they compete in the competitive Northern California League.
EIRA Club Sacramento will implement EIRA standards into their entire organization. Coach Development and Player Development go hand in hand and EIRA will provide training and support.
Tight Clash In SoCal
The St. Augustine Saints hosted Torrey Pines in a huge SCIRF match this weekend, and it was a tight one, with the Saints holding off TP 19-16.
The game started with Torrey Pines running phases through the forwards. The pick-and-go offense worked well for the San Diego-area team, and put the Saints under a ton of pressure. However, St. Augustine held on and didn't allow an early try. That stand proved pivotal.
The Saints were able eventually to mount a response, and after getting into the Torrey Pines 22, the forwards went to work. Michael Cross scored the first try for the Saints on a pick-and-go. Minutes later, the Saints were on the Torrey Pines doorstep and worked a number phases through the forwards. Walter Pongia scored the second try and the Saints took a 14-0 lead into the halftime break.
Jesuit NOLA and Woodlands Battle To A Tie
The Woodlands rugby club out of the Houston area took a trip to New Orleans and faced off with the New Orleans Jesuit Blue Jays.
This was first out-of-state test this season for both squads, and tested they were. The Woodlands took early control using the clever and accurate foot of flyhalf Mattox King, who continually found the Jays’ cover defense lacking with deep kicks into Jays’ territory. The Jays initially had no answer other than handling errors and inaccurate play. The Woodlands quickly capitalized when powerful No. 8 Tom Dixon barreled over the Jays’ trylineto establish an early 7-0 lead.
One Day Left To Apply To Boys HS Nationals
One more day to go for teams interesting in applying to the Boys HS National Championships.
Details on what that entails are here:
Over 300 Elite-Level HS Players In Winter Camps
Over 300 boys HS players were in elite-level winter camps over the Christmas break.
Eagle Impact Rugby Academy had 252 players in camp, while USA Rugby has 82 U18 and Rising Junior All American players in camp at the same time.
That's 334 athletes at elite-level camps at the same time.
Who are they? We can tell you. Look at the lists below:
Rugby Georgia Opens HS Season
Rugby Georgia kicked off the Spring 2019 season with a pair of high school boys matches and one U16 match.
Kickoff weekend also saw multiple U14 matches and Rookie Rugby events at the U10 and below age groups.
In U19 HS boys action played on Friday evening, the 2018 Champion Phoenix Rugby Club hosted the Etowah River Valley Rugby Club and the Roswell Rebels hosted the East Cobb Trojans.
The defending champions took control from the opening kick-off, with Jack Lavelle scoring from two meters out for a 7-0 lead (conversion good). Etowah played a physical first half but could not shut down the Phoenix as Justice Reeder and Preston Greenlee were able to score. The hosts would take a 17-0 lead going into the break.
Los Alamitos Leads A Tight SoCal Varsity White
Los Alamitos continues to make waves in Southern California and could well be on its way to a title in the Southern California Youth Rugby Boys Varsity White Division.
Los Al has doubled its numbers from last year, and that's allowed them to field a 2nd side, even with a large number of underclassmen in the varsity squad.
This season a typically compact forward pack brings the power in senior flanker Jonah Charlton, senior No. 8 Ken Sale, junior prop Darren Fauni, and senior Aizak Fido, who is a high school All American. While Fido has remained in the pack to lead the forwards, former prop Mavaeganailetai Roberts, also a High School All American, has moved into the centers. He works with sophomore scrumhalf Joseph Nuez, and senior flyhalf Elijah Tuialii in a potent attack.
Jesuit New Orleans Wins Opener
The Jesuit of New Orleans Blue Jays opened up their 2019 league season with a 36-12 defeat of Brother Martin.
Coming off a loss to the Bayou Hurricanes the week before, Brother Martin was looking to get back on the winning side. But, facing the two-time defending Louisiana state champion Blues Jays made it tough.
Jesuit seniors Jack Juge, Cole Roy, Patrick Motes, and Byrne Musser formed powerful core of new players that imposed their will on the Saders throughout the contest. Their brawn was complemented by the leadership and skill of many veteran players, including seniors Will Newel, Daniel Davillier, Langston Goldenberg, and Peter James, to name a few.
Jesuit senior Dan Davillier scored two tries, while Langston Goldenberg, senior Peter James, senior David Childs, and senior Gavin Skipper all added one.
