Utah Youth Rugby will start its fall 7s in three days now that Salt Lake County has opened up for sports activities.

With the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City now able to rent out is fields, UYR will be able to hold tournaments for boys and girls through the fall. The first tournament will be this Saturday, September 19.

That doesn't give teams a lot of time to prepare, and at the same time, while fields may be open and sports OK to play, that doesn't mean that everyone is on board. Teams are expecting a drop in turnout because of everything from how time consuming remote and social-distanced schooling is, to personal concerns about COVID safety, to previously-made plans in what was expected to be a very different fall. Some kids have elected not to play sports this fall because they need to get a job to help the family with bills.

Colin Puriri, wo coaches the United HS club for both boys and girls said he hopes to have a team in each competition, but it will be tough.

"It may take a while for all our players to register," he said. "We've been practicing for a week now." But he expects more players to come into the fold as word spreads.

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Practicing for a week is actually more than a lot of other teams have been able to do.

"We have only held one practice since the announcement that UYR was going forward with fall 7s," said Danny James, who coaches with the Kearns Rugby Club. "We have several returning players and hope to recruit new prospects this year. Still difficult to accomplish that with everything going on in the current climate. UYR has sent out return to play protocols and I feel like they are following all the guidelines set by the state."

James said the Utah summer league, which followed modified rules and kept groups of teams separate, was successful and the temperature checks and social distancing was effective. But, said James, there are always people who will be worried, and it will be up to the teams themselves to show that they are practicing in a safe manner.

Even the perennial champion is feeling the pinch. Herriman HS numbers are down, but with 18 at training at present they are still in a good position. 

"Fall is always optional for our boys; we never require it from any of them and it doesn't have any negative reflection on the spring season if they don't play," said Herriman Director of Rugby Jeff Wilson. "We will go in to Saturday with 4 practices under our belt, so we'll be learning a lot."

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"We'll likely only enter one team, and that team will be very young," added Wilson. "Things being what they are, I would imagine other teams are in similar situations, so it could be wide open. I think we have a great chance to compete and expect us to compete for the title as always, but this could be the most competitive, balanced fall competition in a while."

There will be five weekends of competition for boys and girls in Utah over the course of six weekends. All tournaments are expected to be at the RAC in Salt Lake City.

Utah Youth Rugby Fall 7s Schedule:

Saturday, September 19
Saturday, September 26
Saturday, October 10
Saturday, October 17
Saturday, October 24