Greer Christmas 7s Crowns Three Winners
Greer Christmas 7s Crowns Three Winners
The second annual Greer Christmas 7s Rugby Tournament is in the books with the Raleigh Redhawks girls, Pendleton boys, and Loudoun boyls all showing well.
The new-look, two-day tournament resembled last years’ one-day affair. The tourney saw many of the same teams in the Girls, Boys Gold, and Boys Silver divisions.
High School Girls
The High School Girls Division saw another dominant performance from the inaugural winners Raleigh Redhawks. The Girls Champions went five and zero (5-0) in tournament play. Through five games, the Redhawks team had an unblemished record, however several of the matches were tightly contested. Redhawks edged Rattlesnakes 21-19 in the final pool match and Oceanside 31-21 earlier in the day.
High School Boys Silver
The High School Boys Silver Division saw many of the same teams as last year, but crowned a new winner this year. Loudoun (Virginia) won all pool matches in convincing manner to take home the ‘22 crown.
High School Boys Gold
The High School Boys Gold Division championship game saw a rematch of familiar foes Raptors from Tennessee and Pendleton from Indiana. In 2021, the Raptors handled the Pendleton team in pool play and in the championship. This year, the outcome was different.
The first six minutes of the contest saw Raptors with possession and territory having four scrums and a penalty inside the opponent 22. Scrum resets, sure tackling, and a held ball in-goal frustrated the Raptor squad. A scrum penalty in favor of Pendleton broke the possession drought and a tap-and-go led to a Gavin Busby break along the sideline.
That run eventually led to a middle gap break for Nick Trout and he scored. Trout converted his own try and that ended the first half.
The final seven minutes saw all possession with Pendleton in the Raptor end. Reese Reddington opened the second half scoring with a pick from an attacking scrum. The next two scores also from Trout and Reddington came from turnovers on scrums. The final count came from Busby off of a quick tap.
High School Boys Gold Championship Final: Pendleton 31, Raptors 0.
“The tournament was really well run (again)," said Pendleton Coach Austin Robbins. "For us, it was a great building block for upcoming spring success. Some of the fundamentals are already in place. All of our players contributed and found success. Our depth was a key to winning on the weekend. We had trust in all of our players to do the job they were asked and to do it well.”
