The Georgia boys HS all-star team put aside a series of contenders, not least of which was a tough North Carolina team in the final, to take the South Regional Cup Sunday at the RAC in Charlotte, NC.

Led by captain Josh Inglis (Lassiter Trojans), and with a host of strong performances by the likes of flyhalf Lechandt Opperman,(Phoenix Alphareta), scrumhalf Andrew Pretorius (Roswell), and prop Eddie Smith (Roswell), Georgia beat South Carolina and RBMA on Saturday, and then edged Tennessee 10-5 in the semis before beating North Carolina 24-20 in the final.

It was a dramatic final, with Georgia taking a commanding lead at halftime only to see North Carolina surge back. Georgia held on, though, and while they gave up a try to NC with about 30 second to go, they were able to run out the clock to win it.

The entire run to the title has been a tough journey said program director Daniel Pretorius. The Georgia HS Rugby Association has not received SBRO designation from USA Rugby, and chose to try to do whatever USA Rugby told them to do to become an SBRO. One key part was establishing a youth rugby academy, with Lukas Opperman in charge. That academy, said Petorius, had a huge influence on the success of the select side, as the players met regularly throughout the season, and got to know each other. 

Once the regular league season was over, the players started training in earnest, with Mark Tibbetts doing key work in logistics and fundraising - the team raised $23,000 in various fundraising activities to get themselves to Charlotte.

“A lot of credit has to go to the City of Roswell Parks and Recreations Department with Taylor Smith who supported rugby as a new sport in Georgia,” said Pretorius. “And Randy Joseph’s dedication to this sport in Georgia over the past decade has been extraordinary. There has not been more dedication, love and passion toward this sport from one individual.”

The players themselves, coming from a variety of HS programs, rallied around the motto go “finishing the job.

“We had a slow start with a lot of jitters, but as the weekend progressed, the boys became a family and a team,” said Pretorius.

Georgia’s JV team also did well, making the final, where they lost to North Carolina.

 

South RCT Boys Results:

Middle School:

Western NC 34 Georgia 7

Eastern NC 15 Tennessee 13

 

Western NC 15 Tennessee 12

Eastern NC 27 Georgia 0

Georgia 5 Tennessee 17

Eastern NC 5 Western NC 10

 

JV

So. Carolina 7 Georgia 31

No. Carolina 33 Tennessee 3

 

No. Carolina 27 So. Carolina 0

Tennessee 14 Georgia 17

 

Varsity

Arkansas 15 Tennessee 41

RBMA (Florida) 22 No. Carolina 33

Georgia 22 So. Carolina 17

 

RBMA (Florida) 12 Georgia 35

Arkansas 17 So. Carolina 50

No. Carolina 30 Tennessee 29

RBMA (Florida) 7 Arkansas 18

Georgia 10 Tennessee 5

No. Carolina 30 So. Carolina 7

 

 

 

3rd/4th So. Carolina 17 Tennessee 10

Final: Georgia 24 No. Carolina 20