HS Girls

Vipers Looking Ahead to States

The Utah girls high school league started with two teams, and now, six years later, it’s 11 teams strong and still growing. The Vipers have always been out in front, winning three state titles in its short existence and competing at nationals (as Lowland). Right now, the team is focused on keeping its form while lending an eye toward a new, stout opponent in Orem, which currently has the state abuzz. The Vipers have taken the first steps toward reclaiming their state title, opening up the season with a 57-10 win over Kau Toa and following with last Saturday’s 74-5 win over Genesis (Spanish Fork).

South Bay Aiming Higher than SoCal

It’s tempting to just talk about Fallbrook in SoCal, but there’s a whole tier of U18 girls teams benefiting from playing the best team in the nation. South Bay is one of them. The Spartans spent the first three years of existence gaining traction in the community with 7s, then 10s, 12s, and finally 15s in 2014. Last year, South Bay advanced to the SoCal final, against Fallbrook. The pair contested its 2015 rematch – the results of which were similar to the teams’ first meeting – but the Spartans have already demonstrated some growth.

“We love playing Fallbrook,” South Bay coach Emo Pula said. “When we train, we train to beat Fallbrook. They challenge us, and we know it’s going to be a good game.”

North Bay Better in '15?

North Bay had a sobering experiencing at last year’s girls high school championship. For its inaugural showing, the Maryland state champion was placed in DI and faced Fallbrook, Catholic Memorial and St. Joseph’s to finish 8^th. But that’s not the end of North Bay’s story at nationals. The team is returning to the tournament this May, and its 19-12 win over 2014 Pennsylvania finalist Downingtown suggests that North Bay is on the right track.

West End Upends Ft Hunt

The Rugby Virginia girls high school league began last weekend, and all eyes were on West End and Fort Hunt, as the teams played out the rematch of the 2014 state title. What evolved, however, was a 75-5 victory for the Ruckettes.

“It took about 15 minutes to click, since it was our first game of the season, but once we did, it turned into a great game,” West End coach Matt Estes said. “Fort Hunt is physical, has big forwards and some backs that tackle well. But we moved the ball well between our backs and forwards, and ground it out in the forwards.

 “I would have said that that was the game to watch, seeing as Fort Hunt was a state finalist last year,” Estes surveyed the season’s tests, “but we caught them a little off guard and took advantage of yellow cards to some of their key players.”

Fullerton Tournament Latest

The Fullerton International High School Invitational is set for this weekend with eight boys teams and eight girls teams.

Click here for the e-program (best seen on phone or tablet)

Here's the full schedule. Check back during the weekend for scores (pool standings at bottom of page)

BOYS DIVISION

POOL A Fallbrook, Santa Monica, South Bay, Pleasanton

POOL B Mother Lode, Abbotsford, Desert Sands Harlequins, Young Aztecs

GIRLS DIVISION

POOL A Fullerton Lady Lions, Salmon Arm, Pleasanton, Dead Rabbits

POOL B Fallbrook Girls, Abbotsford, Danville, Desert Sands

Here's the schedule. Girls matches in bold.

Girls High School Top 20 - March 12, 2015

The previous two weeks have been both thrilling and anti-climactic, depending on the weather conditions, but enough action occurred to move the Girls High School Top 20 around.

Inarguably the biggest news has circulated around Sacramento. Two weekends ago, the Zons surprised in a 24-12 loss to Pleasanton (read more), but then last Saturday’s 64-12 defeat to a very tough Danville piqued attention further. Still, Amazons coach Sefesi Green showed little concern.

Atlantis Supporting in Atlanta

There hasn’t been much promotion of the Atlanta 7s Festival – the amateur women’s tournament occurring alongside the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series stop – and that’s probably because the tournament is small. There are 20 teams (three have two sides) competing across four divisions, and while programs like AIC, Cal and Glendale represent regions outside of the South, the first-ever Festival has not been well supported across the country.

That said, the teams that are traveling to Kennesaw State understand their significance, and Atlantis is one of them. The all-star program, fresh off a huge showing at the Las Vegas Invitational, is back on the circuit and sending two teams to the Atlanta area.

“I really believe that we need to support what I hope will become the women’s version of Vegas,” Atlantis Blue coach Tom Feury summed it up.

This Weekend in Girls HS Rugby

California has been active for weeks, but the rest of the country is catching up. A couple of states kick off their league seasons this weekend while others play their warm-up tournament in Tennessee.

Cavs Stand Up Zons

In girls high school rugby, Northern California is considered Amazon territory. The January Kickoff Tournament seemed to reiterate that fact, and league contenders – namely Danville and Pleasanton – played sobering games against the Sacramento side. But Saturday showed that the league title is far from decided, as Pleasanton carved out a piece of NorCal land for itself.

“I thought it was possible,” Pleasanton coach Steve Lopez said of the 24-12 win. “The Amazons are the benchmark in northern California, so you never assume that you can beat them. We’ve been playing really well. The new girls have developed nicely since the beginning of the season, so I thought we had a shot.”

Girls High School Top 20 - Feb. 27, 2015

A few things have happened since our last Girls High School Top 20 ranking. State titles have been awarded, and even more SBROs held fall 7s series. For those teams that contest their 15s season in the spring, preferential treatment was given to those who participated in a fall 7s league. There is still a large swath of conferences that have yet to contest a league match, but that will begin to change this weekend.

Orem Surprises Late in the LVI

The Lady Stallions got their first taste of 7s last fall, as Utah Youth Rugby hosted its inaugural girls club 7s season. Orem ended up winning the state title and were curious how they’d match up against tougher competition. So they traveled to the Las Vegas Invitational and entered the Girls High School Elite 7s division.

Orem struggled in pool play, losing games to Edmonton Gold (17-14), High School All Americans 2 (40-0) and British Columbia (32-0) on Thursday.

“We played club 7s in Utah, but it was just those teams,” Orem captain Kat Stowers said. “We knew how to play it over there. But we knew there were girls here who are more experienced than us.

Atlantis U16s Exceed Expectations

There were plenty of successes and surprises at the Las Vegas Invitational, but one topping the list is the Atlantis U16s in the Girls High School Open division. It was the first time that the all-star program has fielded this age group, and that alone was an achievement. The players, however, had higher standards for themselves.

The 12 players hailing mostly from the east coast, but also Wisconsin and Colorado, had one two-hour training session on Wednesday.

“We knew we were going up against U19 girls, girls who have probably been playing longer than we have,” captain Gio Ferguson-Lewis said. “But I was optimistic that we were going to give some fight. We weren’t going to go into this tournament with our heads down and take the losses. … We were going to set our standards and do what we had to do.”

California Dominates LVI All Star Teams

California has sent nine players to the Girls High School All Americans (HSAA), which will make its debut at the Las Vegas Invitational 7s this week. SoCal’s Fallbrook and ICEF sent five athletes total, while NorCal’s Danville and Pleasanton sent four representatives. No other state sent more than two players, but there is one obvious benefit to having more than a third of the squad come from California: They’re all in-season and playing rugby right now, unlike the majority of the country.

The SoCal teams started their Winter Series of 7s and 10s tournaments in December, and now the 15s league is underway. Both Fallbrook and ICEF celebrated wins on Saturday, with the latter banking a 53-17 victory over Fullerton.

Atlantis U16s Debut in Vegas

Atlantis continues to grow, and later this week, the first-ever Girls U16 team will debut at the Las Vegas Invitational (Feb. 12-14). Twelve players hailing mostly from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York (with Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin getting a representative apiece) will don the aquamarine and compete in the Girls High School 7s division.

Play Rugby coach Ryszard Chadick will be in charge, while Doylestown coach Stacy Mancuso assists and manages the squad. The players were selected mostly from coach recommendations; however, both coaches were familiar with several players from all-star squads and appearances at the New York 7s.