The Utah Cannibals, Utah Youth Rugby’s High Performance Program, have been accepted to play in the world’s largest and most prestigious youth 7s event in the world, the HSBC’s Rosslyn Park Sevens, in London, UK, next March.

The last US select side to compete in the HSBC Rosslyn Park 7s was the HS All Americans in 2013.

The Utah Cannibals were established in 2010 as a pathway to showcase Utah’s top up and coming rugby players. Since 2010 the UYR-Cannibals have placed 14 players in the HSAA program and many more have transitioned to Collegiate Rugby as well as Collegiate Football.

“After reviewing several youth 7s events around North America and the Globe, we felt that the Las Vegas Invitational, the CRC-HS 7s, the Denver 7s, and the British Columbia 7s were the top youth events to focus on in North America. On the International stage, without question, it was the Rosslyn Park 7s. Any other overseas 7s event falls way short of the mark.” said Nu’u Punimata, former USA 7s player and a member of the Cannibals' coaching staff.

In 2015, the Utah Cannibals U16s side lifted the Champions Cup at the British Columbia 7s, the first U.S. side ever to do so. The BC 7s Championship side are now U17s and will be the core of the squad going into the Rosslyn Park 7s in 2017.

“We know the Cannibals will be tested at every stage of the tournament and that is the whole reason for playing. The Rosslyn Park 7s is the pinnacle of 7s Youth competition and we look forward to the challenge and experience gained from this” said former USA 15s and 7s player Rob Randel, who is also a Cannibals coach.

The Cannibals will be focusing on player development this summer competing in the 2016 CRC, the Denver 7s, the British Columbia 7s, and the Serevi Youth 7s leading up to Rosslyn Park Sevens in 2017.