The Maccabi USA Rugby teams are in Israel preparing for the Maccabiah 2021 rugby tournaments.
For the women, this is a first-ever outing as the rugby tournament at the Maccabiah Games in the past have all been for men. But now this group is learning to play together and train together. They have a week to nail down their patterns, and in what is a small women's tournament, they have an excellent shot to win.
USA Women's Team Set for Maccabiah Games
The mood in the women's camp is very positive. They are pioneers and are proud of that, and are looking to come together and play well.
For the men, they have been hard at work hoping to bring back gold, perhaps in both 7s and 15s. But having two tournaments, one after another, makes it more challenging.
The training camp was a short preseason and then the 7s tournament kicks off July 12. The 7s tournament is like a warmup tournament for the 15s tournament, but at the same time is in and of itself very important, said Maccabi USA Rugby Chair Dave Rudzinsky. The USA plays two games July 12, one against South Africa and the other against Israel. On the 13th they play Great Britain and then the top two play the final on the night of the 13th, with the other two playing for bronze.
