GRR: HS Girls
Rugby Indiana has kicked off its series of touch rugby tournaments and the response has been very positive.
On a day that started cold and wet and ended with a little fall sunshine, high school players played touch rugby league—no tackles, no mauls, no scrums, but plenty of passing and running—and reacquainted student-athletes with the sport.
United swept the field Saturday in the opening weekend of Utah Youth Rugby's fall 7s.
The United boys team was dominant, winning three games by shutout. Their only close one was against Brighton/Copper Hills at 19-14, but that was the last game of the day and United was already 3-0 and Brighton/Copper Hills was already 0-3. Mountain Ridge did well to finish the day 3-1.
Rugby ramps up in high school 7s this weekend, with Utah Youth Rugby kicking off its fall season.
While some teams in Utah have seen a bit of a slowdown in signups as some parents are wary of allowing their kids playing time during the COVID-19 pandemic, UYR's campaign of pointing out how extensive screen time is bad for kids has helped get eager kids back on the field.
It's tightening up at the top of the Rugby Idaho Girls 7s series after this slate of midweek games.
Rocky Mountain Black swept Monday's JV games with two shutouts, including a startling 17-0 defeat of Mountain View, which had entered the day ranked #1. Rocky Mountain Purple, meanwhile struggled a little, just barely edging out Eagle HS 7-5, and then losing to Mountain View 22-7.
Touch Rugby may be the best inroad into getting rugby on the field this fall.
High school and youth programs have probably been the first to officially get the OK to play touch rugby in a competitive format, but this certainly could be the way forward for college and club, as well.