GRR: Rugby Washington
The USA national team programs can never have enough props, and one who seems set to be a big part of American rugby's front row is David Ainuu.
In an interesting turn of events this summer, the Rugby Washington Boys HS 7s championship was won by a JV team.
In the final tournament of the season, the Rainier Highlanders, the program that also won the Boys 15s title, fielded two teams, a Varsity and a JV squad.
The Seattle Vikings finished the day in the Rugby Washington 7s series Boys bracket with a 4-0 record this past weekend.
With the Vikings showcasing some snappy team play, they led the field of seven teams. Defending state 15s champs, the Rainier Highlanders, fielded two teams and they ended up going 3-2-2, tying each other and losing only to Seattle.
Harrow School from England is touring the USA, playing teams on both coasts in a trip put together by Varsity Travel.
Varsity Travel runs rugby tours to the US and also for USA teams going abroad, finding the right competition for them and additional cultural experiences.
The only major HS all-star tournament West of the Continental Divide kicks off this weekend in Corvallis, Ore, with a massive feast of rugby at the Great Northwest Challenge.
And the tournament is also an interesting experiment to see how splitting off of all-star efforts from their State-Based Rugby Organizations works.