U18 Boys Assemble for Global Youth Sevens Camp
Top U18 players are in camp right now to prepare for the Global Youth Sevens in New Zealand in December.
The camp roster was assembled based on player performances and identification opportunities across a variety of high-level competitions and development programs throughout the year, including:
7s Tournaments: Tropical 7s, NAI 7s, LAI 7s, Midsummer 7s Classic
- USA High School National Championships
- USA U18 XVs representation
- Collaboration with various academies like Atlantis, EIRA, Rebel, and USAR South
- USA Talent ID Days
"These players are relishing the opportunities to play better rugby in quality Sevens tournaments, school championships, and representative level rugby," said Head Coach David Fee. "It's exciting to see them come into camp and put their best foot forward for selection.
A Bad Win and a Good Loss for USA Age-Graders
It was exactly what they needed and also exactly what they didn't want when it comes to two USA age-grade games South of the Equator Saturday.
While we will report opn the RAN U19 final later today, the tour wrapup games for the USA U23 men and the USA U18 boys were in direct contrast to each other.
The expectation, nay, the need, for the U23s was as tough competition as possible without it being a walkover. Only the UXI Invitational XV in the opening match gave the USA team much of a game. It was tied 12-12 at halftime before the USA U23s ran in five tries to win 41-12.
The Boland match, which one might argue was closer, was not. The USA team was in control early, were tougher, stronger, more disciplined, and more athletic.
Four Wins in Two Days for USA Age-Grade Men's Teams
The last 36 hours saw the USA age-grade teams win four games by a total score of 210-33.
The USA U23s beat Boland Academy 57-26 on Tuesday in a game in which the Americans’ power in contact told the story.
Boland struggled to contain the USA U23 maul, and as a result, any penalties inside the hosts’ half were trouble.
The U23s scored several tries off the lineout-and-drive, and the strong work among the power guys eventually opened it up out wide.
The USA U19s opened up their RAN U19 championships with two shutout wins. The USA beat Trinidad & Tobago 59-0. They were able to open it up early, using powerful outside center Mosese Luveitasau to bust through off set piece. The Southern Virginia standout scored on a play off a lineout and a play off a scrum, and tacklers struggled to contain him.
Wild Win for USA U18 Team
The USA U18s defeated Rosario Rugby Academy Saturday in a wild match in Argentina.
The game produced 111 points and was free-flowing throughout.
As expected there was heavy contests at the breakdown and plenty of kicking. In fact, Rosario scored in the first minute off a kick exchange that ended with the ball bouncing for an aggressive chaser. It was 7-0 before anyone had much time to do anything.
The U18s’ defense showed a little better after that and they kept Rosario at bay until a penalty allowed the hosts to launch off a lineout and score in the corner. Corner or in front of the posts was no trouble for their kicker and the score was 14-0.
U18 Boys Work to Formulate a Team as First Game Looms
Five sessions are in the books for the USA U18 Boys as they prepare for their first match of a three-game tour of South America.
Live Stream of the game July 6 10AM ET>>
There is not a ton of time before Sunday's first match, so the coaching staff is working hard to make sure everyone is on the same page.
"We've had five sessions so far, installing and refining all the major blocks of our philosophy, strategy, and tactics and how it ties into our identity and the American rugby model laid forth by Scott," said Head Coach Dom Wareing. "Scott" of course is USA 15s Head Coach Scott Lawrence. "It's a great, hard working group with a real sense of camaraderie that's allowing everyone to contribute and make their voices heard in a collaborative manner."
U18 Boys Settling in on South American Tour
The USA U18 boys team is safely in Argentina and preparing for their three-match tour of South America.
The tour is run by Varsity Travel run by Agustin Oulton, who had kindly sent us some photos. See more about Varsity Travel here>>
The USA team has been training for Sunday's match with Rosario Academy. The city of Rosario is in central Argentina and is the nexus of age-grade rugby in the region. And remember, Argentina is big, it's about the size of the contiguous USA west of Denver (or slightly more than the contiguous USA east of the Mississippi). So the academies are hugely important in developing players.
"The boys are gelling well," said Head Coach Dom Wareing. "We've had lots of information covered but everyone is on task and picking it up quickly."
USA U18 Boys Set to Tour South America
USA Men's U18s Head Coach Dominic Wareing has named his squad to tour South America in July.
The team will actually leave for Argentina on June 30 and will stay through June 13.
They will play Rosario Academy on July 6. Rosario is a city of about 1.2 million about 200 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. With the distances involved, Argentina tends to foster academies rather than a national U18 team. This will be a stern test for the USA U18s.
On July 9 they play the Buenos Aires Academy. Following that the U18s move on to Montevideo, Uruguay, where they will play the Uruguay national U18s as a curtain-raiser for the Uruguay vs Romania senior test match.
USA Age-Grade Men Look to Overseas Trips
The USA men's age-grade team selections will be announced very soon, but here's a quick look at what they will be doing.
U18s to South America
The U18 Boys will be returning to South America, where they toured last year. This tour seems to be a little more formal on the South American side, with two matches scheduled against regional academy teams in Argentina.
Argentina does not consistently field a U18 national team, in part because the country is so large and spread out. Regional academy teams, especially once you get out of Buenos Aires, seems to be the way to go. These will be very challenging and high-level games for the USA U18s. After those matches, the USA U18s will travel to Montevideo, Uruguay, to face the Uruguayan U18 national team.
USA Men's Age-Grade Teams Announce Tour Plans
The USA age=grade teams are going to be active this year despite World Rugby's drawback from U20 action.
World Rugby is reportedly coming back with a new-look U20 world competition for 2026. As it is, this year, there's nothing, so USA rugby is focusing in part on a U19 team that can be developed for U20 competition a year later.
This year, the U18, U19, and U23 squads will each embark on international tours.
USA Men’s U18s – Argentina Tour
The USA Men’s U18s will travel to Argentina for a three-match tour, kicking off on June 30 and concluding on July 13. The team will face elite academy competition from two of Argentina’s top regional schools; Buenos Aires Academy (two matches) and Rosario Academy.
USA Rugby Announcing List of Regional Talent ID Camps
USA Rugby High Performance and USA Youth & High School Rugby have announced a series of regional talent identification camps as part of the High School Pathway program.
These camps are set up to find and develop rugby talent across the country, with a goal toward populating the U18s teams (boys and girls) and setting players up for higher honors.
Boys and girls boys in 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010 are the age-range for the program.
Players age 14-18 are the focus, because those ages are well placed to develop good habits and skills as the players grow physically.
The camps are skill-development-based. Using the benefit of the 6 Degrees program USA Rugby High Performance will be in international-level coaches to refine the skill proficiency of the young athletes.
Busy Summer for USA Age-Grade Women's Teams
GLENDALE, Colo. (USA Rugby Release)—USA Women’s Pathways Manager Martha Daines has confirmed a busy summer for the USA Junior National Teams, with international tours scheduled for the U18s and for the U20s in July, as well as the return of the U23s All Star Competition in June, in partnership with the New England Free Jacks of Major League Rugby.
USA Rugby High Performance managers organized an extraordinary amount of Junior National Team activity in 2023, with more focused plans and partnerships in line for this year. Continuing to identify new talent and cultivate a core group year-in year-out, Daines and company look forward to the program’s progression toward pinnacle home events in the LA28 Olympics and Rugby World Cup 2033.
USA U18 Boys Take 6th at Global Youth Sevens
The USA U18 Boys finished 6th at the Global Youth 7s in Auckland, New Zealand, dropping two games on the final day of competition.
Pool play started poorly as the team seemed a bit disjointed and committed some silly penalties in a 38-19 loss to Asian Dragons. But that was a bit of the wakeup call for the Americans. They turned around the pretty much dominate Iron Armour Academy and Pakuranga. Leading the way were James Rose (Green Bay Rugby), who showed a nice combination of power and rugby IQ, and San Diego Mustang Spencer Huntley, who worked very hard on defense and as a result found himself with scoring chances.
Monarch Rugby’s Marco Lapierre showed a nice turn of pace and a sidestep to add to the USA arsenal.
USA U18 Girls 5th at Global Youth Sevens
The USA U18 girls took 5th in the Global Youth 7s in Auckland, New Zealand, finsihing the final day with their first loss and then an impressive win.
Pool play went nicely for the USA team. They moved the ball well, showcasing some serious pace on the outside and running the attack through flyhalf and Knightmare Rugby (Rugby PA) standout Bella Voegal. Long Island University speedster Koris Fields was excellent in space, while the likes of Chloe de Leon (Carmel Rugby, Indiana) and Dartmouth’s Paula Almeida were giving defenses fits in the middle.
The USA ran through pool play with two major blowout victories and a closer struggle with the Australia Cavaliers, which they won 22-12.
In the Round of 16 the USA faced fellow American team Belmont Shore which had done very well to make it into the top knockout bracket.
Big US Presence in Global Youth Sevens
The Global Youth Sevens Auckland, NZ event is set to kick off tonight USA time.
Three North American boys teams and three North American girls teams are slated for the U18 event.
USA Rugby has a boys and a girls team in action.
Scouting, Funding, and the USA U18 Boys 7s Team
USA U18 Girls Picked to Play in World School 7s
The Barhaven Scottish team from Canada (Barhaven is a suburb of Ottawa, Ont.) have sent a boys team and Belmont Shore from Long Beach, Calif. have also sent a boys team as well as a girls team. Along with Belmont Shore and USA girls, Pasefika, a touring side from Hawai'i, joins the girls competition.
30 Players to Chula Vista for USA U18 7s Tryout
(USA Rugby Release)—USA Rugby is sending a boys U18 team to the World School 7s in New Zealand in December.
This team is going to be selected out of the players invited to a camp at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
Men’s High Performance Pathways Manager, Brenden Keane noted on the development tour, “I’m pleased to see the boys are returning to Global School 7s. The tournament has a strong rugby tradition and has produced some of the top sevens players in the world.”
