Five teams went 3-0 in the Boys Open 7s Thursday at the Las Vegas Invitational, with the Arizona Bobcats dominating and taking the #1 seed.

The Bobcats beat Rugby Royals, Loudon, and Medicine Hat, and allowed just one try. 

The Bobcats are the official all-star team from Rugby Arizona, and this team was drawn from eight different teams. 

"They did great," said Bobcats Coach Ian Gregor. "We had a lot of good teamwork. We needed to simplify it and told the guys not to panic - just work in groups of three and you won't need to panic. And if there's a half-gap, take it."

Big Nafi Maafu drew plenty of notice in the midfield, leaving space open for the likes of Julio Hidalgo, and Vitolio Teutupe (who has the added benefit of being USA 7s player Martin Iosefo's cousin). 

"We have five non-seniors on the team, and it's nice to see the young guys stepping up," added Gregor.

The Bobcats squad is: Tre Bass – Tempe, Connor Bey – West Valley, Ian Bocek – El Mirage, Ben Cohen – North Valley, Tanner Davison – Northern Arizona, Julio Hidalgo – West Valley, Nafi Maafu – Tempe, Cyp Miller – Phoenix, Brad Moran – Phoenix, Vitolio Teutupe – Tempe, Adriaan Van Niekirk – Desert Vista, Brody Wainwright – Blackbirds

Also enjoying a good day was the Herriman HS team from Utah, which finished 5-1 with two separate teams, winning two pools, and putting two teams into the Cup Quarterfinals.

Brig Rush scored five tries for the Gold team (more experienced), and Jaeron Masina and Levi Hunt both had good performances. The Red (mostly younger players) lost only one game, 14-10 to the Rugby Zoo Crew, and in that pool three teams ended up 2-1. Herriman Red moved through on superior points difference.

Herriman did this while playing without four of their top players. Tomasi Tonga and Leki Fotu are with the HS All American team, Beto Lui is playing with the Utah Cannibals select side, and Noah Vaea is at a football tournament. 

"Not a bad start to the season for us," said Herriman Coach Jeff Wilson. "We had a bit of sloppy play and unforced errors that come with running out for the first time this year; hopefully we will clean some things up tomorrow."

Below are all the Boys Open 7s Scores, the standings as we figure them, and the knockout round quarterfinals as we've figured them. They are unofficial, however.

 

 

Utah Rugby Academy	14-19	Herriman Red
Mavericks 7's Blue	12-38	Rugby Zoo Crew
Tennessee Tri-Star Red	12-45	Rock Rugby
Utah Cannibals 3	24-15	SMAC Selects
BCEY 7's	29-7	South Side Irish
Rugby Virginia Red	12-28	View Park Prep
Rugby Virginia Blue	41-5	The Goth RFC
PV Rugby	12-47	EORU
Utah Rugby Academy	17-12	Rugby Zoo Crew
Mavericks 7's Blue	0-34	Herriman Red
Tennessee Tri-Star Red	19-14	SMAC Selects
Utah Cannibals 3	7-12	Rock Rugby
BCEY 7's	29-5	View Park Prep
Rugby Virginia Red	7-21	South Side Irish
Rugby Virginia Blue	17-19	EORU
PV Rugby	5-19	The Goth RFC
Utah Rugby Academy	38-7	Mavericks 7's Blue
Herriman Red	10-14	Rugby Zoo Crew
Tennessee Tri-Star Red	5-33	Utah Cannibals 3
Rock Rugby	29-0	SMAC Selects
BCEY 7's	41-7	Rugby Virginia Red
South Side Irish	12-28	View Park Prep
Rugby Virginia Blue	38-5	PV Rugby
The Goth RFC	14-38	EORU
Medicine Hat Griffins	5-38	Rigby Royals
Loudon Rugby	0-39	AZ Bobcats
Mavericks 7's Red	5-24	LV Blackhawks
Tennessee Tri-Star Blue	12-31	Herriman Gold
Medicine Hat Griffins	0-50	AZ Bobcats
Loudon Rugby	0-19	Rigby Royals
Mavericks 7's Red	12-24	Herriman Gold
Tennessee Tri-Star Blue	36-0	LV Blackhawks
Medicine Hat Griffins	5-29	Loudon Rugby
Rigby Royals	7-17	AZ Bobcats
Mavericks 7's Red	17-19	Tennessee Tri-Star Blue
LV Blackhawks	5-19	Herriman Gold

 

Pool B	W	L	T	Pf	Pa	Pd	Pts
Herriman Red	2	1	0	63	28	35	7
Utah Rugby Academy	2	1	0	69	38	31	7
Rugby Zoo Crew	2	1	0	64	39	25	7
Mavericks Blue	0	3	0	19	110	-91	3
Pool C	W	L	T	Pf	Pa	Pd	Pts
Rock Rugby	3	0	0	86	19	67	9
Utah Cannibals 3	2	1	0	64	32	32	7
Tennessee Tri-Star Red	1	2	0	36	92	-56	5
SMAC Selects	0	3	0	29	72	-43	3
Pool A	W	L	T	Pf	Pa	Pd	Pts
British Columbia	3	0	0	99	19	80	9
View Park Prep	2	1	0	61	53	8	7
South Side Irish	1	2	0	40	64	-24	5
Rugby Va Red	0	3	0	26	90	-64	3
Pool D	W	L	T	Pf	Pa	Pd	Pts
EORU	3	0	0	104	43	61	9
Rugby Va Blue	2	1	0	96	29	67	7
The Goth	1	2	0	38	84	-46	5
PV Rugby	0	3	0	22	104	-82	3
Pool E	W	L	T	Pf	Pa	Pd	Pts
AZ Bobcats	3	0	0	106	7	99	9
Rigby Royals	2	1	0	64	22	42	7
Loudon	1	2	0	29	63	-34	5
Medicine Hat	0	3	0	10	117	-107	3
Pool F	W	L	T	Pf	Pa	Pd	Pts
Herriman Gold	3	0	0	74	29	45	9
Tennessee Tri-Star Blue	2	1	0	67	48	19	7
LV Blackhawks	1	2	0	43	46	-3	5
Mavericks Red	0	3	0	34	67	-33	3

 

The teams are re-seeded for the next round of games. Teams are seeded by the pool winners, with points difference the 1st tie-breaker. The next two best teams are added. (So even though Herriman Red was 2-1, as was Rugby Virginia and Rigby Royals, Herriman Red won their pool, and so are ranked ahead of them.)

Unofficial Quarterfinal Matchups for Friday:

Cup:

9:20am #1 Arizona Bobcats v #8 Rigby Royals

9:40am #4 EORU v #5 Herriman Gold

10am  #3 Rock Rugby v #6 Herriman Red

10:20 #2 British Columbia v Rugby Virginia Blue

 

Plate

8am #1 Utah Cannibals v #8 Loudon

8:20am #4 Tennessee Tri-Star Blue v #5 View Park Prep

8:40am #3 Rugby Zoo Crew v #6 Las Vegas Blackhawks

9am #2 Utah Rugby Academy v South Side Irish

 

Bowl

8am #1 The Goth v #8 Medicine Hat

8:20am #4 SMAC Select v Rugby Virginia Red

8:40am #3 Mavericks Red v PV Rugby

9am #2 Tennessee Tri Star Red v Mavericks Blue