All Smiles At Freetail 7s
All Smiles At Freetail 7s
Phoenix dominated the field in the women's bracket and it was as close as possible in the men's bracket in the inaugural Freetails 7s.
Phoenix, which partnered with Scion to bring together players from around the country, with many from the San Antonio Riveters, as excellent. Eagles Alycia Washington and Nate Serevi stood out, but Christine Kriefer, Toni Armstrong, Amy Crawford, Antea Decic and more were also excellent as Phoenix rolled over the Central Queensland Dingoes and the Texas team to win the tournament's $4,000 purse.
In the men's bracket, it was all drama. Gorilla, made up of young players from the Texas area, didn't back down at all and were very unlucky not to make the top two. Gorilla lost in overtime to Lomaiviti in a dramatic semi. Meanwhile, Ragga Muffin 7s and Atlantis came down to the final play. Up by less than a try, Atlantis held on defensively to drive the ball into touch to make the final.
In the final, Aren Martin was a speedster and Dylan Carrion directed play beautifully. At every opportunity Atlantis let the ball do the work. When they got a turnover the first hands on the ball passed to a moving supporting runner, and as a result Atlantis always put Lomaiviti under pressure.
Atlantis won the $8,000 purse.
This was a superbly-run tournament at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex just north of Austin. Played over two days and ending on New Year's Eve, it combined the serious nature of select-side and touring side 7s, and the social aspect of the game. All of the teams were looking forward to ringing in the New Year at the city.
Ryan Walker ran a tight ship at the event, which was well officiated and had live streaming from Next Level Rugby in partnership with Eleven Sports. See Day Two action here >>
This concent has legs.
For more on next year's tournament go to: http://freetail7s.com/
The men's tournament did not have an undefeated team. Atlantis and Lomaiviti both lost in pool play, and both semis were very close. Gorilla fell in a tight one to Ragga Muffins in the 3rd-4th game, but beat the eventual winners, Atlantis, on Day One. This just shows how close it all was.
