Saturday sees the massive NY 7s kick off with a very, very robust group of High School brackets.
As is always the case with such things, the rosters and how quickly those teams come together will decide who wins and loses. Sometimes it's the club teams that are more familiar with each other that do better.
Either way, this is a hard tournament because it's all in one day and no game is easy.
Boys Premier
Atlantis is the highest-profile name coming out of the USA and while they've actually been concentrating on 15s in the recent weeks, expect Atlantis to run out a strong side.
SC Barbarians bring players from South Carolina, heavily influenced by Oceanside HS, Greer, and Wando.
NY Locals are an offshoot of the NY Locals Premier Rugby 7s academy program. They ran two teams, one out of New York City and one out of Long Island. They've been going through sessions and the two scrimmaged against each other.
Toronto Reds are one of the favorites. The Toronto-area select side brings in top players from Aurora, Balmy Beach, Mississauga, Toronto City, and Oshawa and have won this tournament before and their teams have been winning all fall.
Upright Rugby Rogues draws players from most Western Ontario and areas outside of Toronto. They are well-coached and understand the game, and are best when they have a bit of size.
The club teams in this bracket include Berks County Rugby, which just finished 2nd inRugby Pennsylvania's competition and are physical, aggressive, and can score from long-range.
Greenwich out of Connecticut played in the Rugby Pennsylvania 7s league and did very well, depending on who they could put on the roster. They did at least once sweep their games and will bring unity and intensity to this league.
Play Rugby USA is a local side out of New York with pace and explosiveness.
Girls Premier
Atlantis has one of the favorites here and they usually bring a team that has national team candidates.
The Rugby Advantage has won all over the country and are high skills.
Upright Rugby bring in strong players from around Ontario.
Perhaps the teams to watch are USA West, which has been growing and growing since starting their programs through the youth, and the resurgent Utah Cannibals, who draw from some programs that have an excellent combination of skill, speed, and power.
