United States Rugby

USA Rugby officially released the list of conferences and participating teams for the 2011 launch of their new collegiate competition. Slated as a level above Division I, the 31 team competition is being referred to as Division I Premier.

The teams which have joined the initial four conferences in Division I Premier represent some of the very best that college rugby has to offer. Overall, 14 of the 16 teams who had reached the Collegiate Sweet 16 in 2010 have moved to the competition, with only Bowling Green and Syracuse not joining.

Bowling Green officially declined invitation due to concerns over travel, but there is no word as to whether Syracuse was ever in the mix to join one of the new conferences.

The two most intriguing teams headed into play are Claremont, whom will be making a major jump. The 2010 Division II National Champions will be skipping over Division I right into DI Premier. They will certainly have their hands full this upcoming season.

The other team of major interest is Life University. Life has long been known as one of the top rugby programs in the United States, but has only fielded teams in men's competition. Life has added an undergraduate side and have to be immediately counted as one of the top teams in the competition.

Division I Premier Conferences

The Rugby East Conference will consist of Dartmouth, Penn State, Ohio State, Army, Navy, Kutztown, Rutgers, and Delaware.

The Pacific Conference will be populated by the likes of Cal, Cal Poly, Central Washington, Claremont, San Diego State, St. Mary’s, UC Davis, and UCLA.

The Western Conference will be host to Air Force, Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, and Wyoming.

And finally, the Mid-South Conference will be made up of Arkansas State, Life, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.

While issues with the conference break-downs were inevitable, overall, a fine job was done. Each conference has plenty of natural rivalries which will give the competition immediately marketable matchups.

For most of the teams involved, the new competition will serve to bring them high level games on a weekly basis, instead of a couple tough games, sprinkled around plenty of blowouts. The increased competition also serves to fuel a rise in the level of play on the field and the validity of rugby on campus.

The most interesting prospect in the entire competition is seeing how some teams, accustomed to success, will deal with adversity. There are a lot of good teams involved, and at least one team is going to end up as the doormat in every conference.

Play kicks off in March with each team playing against each of the other teams in their conference once. The top two teams from each conference move onto the Playoffs, to compete for a chance to be the inaugural champions of Division I Premier.

With 31 of the top college programs moving to a new division, Division I is also seeing new life and a renewed competition structure.

Long tied to an outdated competition system, Division I is restructuring into conferences that are more in-line with other college sports. To date, 15 new conferences have been assembled with the hopes of one more coming on board.

An exciting byproduct of this realignment has been the creation of conferences which are modeled after existing collegiate sports conferences. The Ivy League was the first to make this move and have since been followed by schools from the ACC.

Changes which have been made this summer have made a significant impact on college rugby and gives new hope to the future of the sport in America.

You can find more of Ted Hardy's writing at Rugby America.

Following the USA Rugby Men’s Collegiate All-Star Championships this weekend, USA has announced the 2010 Collegiate All-Americans and Honorable Mentions.

"With a pool of approximately 15,000 men’s collegiate players across the US, the Collegiate All-American selectors and coaches spent nearly nine months on player identification, fitness testing, standards implementation and monitoring to narrow the list to 37 All-Americans and 29 Honorable Mentions," said All-American Coach Alex Magleby, who also serves as the head coach at Ivy League rugby power Dartmouth.

The All-American Team is made up of the nation’s best collegiate rugby players who are picked annually on the basis of performance over the course of the domestic collegiate rugby season, the National Collegiate Championships, and the Collegiate National All-Star Championship.

The All-American team has long been a precursor to international honors, with many All-Americans graduating to the USA National Team.

The 2010 All-American team is headlined by nine players from National 15’s Champion, Cal, and three from National 7’s Champion, Utah.

"Congratulations to our collegiate players and coaches. Fitness and skill levels once again exceeded those from previous years," Magleby added. "The standards continue to improve with healthier high school programs coupled with progress in collegiate player development and coaching. Now comes the equally challenging task of picking an All-American tour team."

Unlike other sports where the All-American team is just a designated honor, rugby All-Americans actually compete for their country in a series of matches each summer. Past All-American teams have played in South Africa, New Zealand, and Ireland, among other places. The overseas tours serve to continue to the development of some of the best and brightest rugby players in America.

2010 Collegiate All-Americans

Forwards

Asbun, Derek (California)

Barrett, Danny (California)

Evans, Roland (Arkansas State)

Farr, Roan (Arkansas State)

Fenoglio, Zachary (Loyola Marymount)

Fry, Eric (California)

Jarvis, Paul (Dartmouth College)

Kimble, Kevin (Penn State)

Knab, David (Ohio State)

McTiernan, Ryan (NYAC/Fordham)

Mokate, Taylor (Oklahoma)

Parker, Chris (Texas A&M)

Roundy, Ryan (BYU)

Shephard, Michael (Indiana University)

Su'a, Mike (BYU)

Wessels, Nardus (Arkansas State)

Wunderli, Matt (Utah)

Backs

Clark, Chad (St. Mary’s College of California)

Davies, Shaun (BYU)

Engelbrecht, Keegan (California)

Gallinger, Sean (California)

Goff, Benjamin (Tennessee)

Hawley, Colin (California)

Kelly, Seamus (California)

Kelm, Duncan (San Diego State)

Leatigaga, Ben (Army)

Leland, Hunter (Texas A&M)

Lubbe, Dylan (BYU)

Mateialona, Benny (Life University)

Muhn, Dustin (California)

Palamo, Thretton (Utah)

Pati, Don (Utah)

Regas, Nick (Claremont McKenna College)

Roberts, Hamish (Texas A&M)

Ross, Alex (San Diego State)

Saint, Chris (Penn State)

Scully, Blaine (California)

Honorable Mentions

Forwards

Allred, TJ (BYU)

Bertrand, Conor (Texas A&M)

Bester, Paul (Life University)

Bontranger, Conrad (Indiana)

Buboltz, David (San Diego State)

Burd, Camden (Utah)

Civetta, Nick (Notre Dame)

Honaker, Darrell (San Diego State)

Hyjer, Drew (California)

Latu, Patrick (San Mateo Community College)

Leinweber, Luke (Northern Colorado)

Metcalf, Scott (Utah)

Pasque, Tommy (University of Colorado – Boulder)

Potgieter, Shaun (Arkansas State)

Purcell, Brendan (San Diego State)

Salamon, Tyler (Life University)

Vimahi, Viliami (BYU)

Backs

Angilau, Naki (Utah)

Bredesen, Chris (San Diego State)

Caswell, David (Arkansas State)

Ducoing, Adam (LSU)

Folau, Tupu (BYU)

Geib, Dave (Army)

Harrison, Tyler (UC Davis)

Johns, Bobby (LSU)

Jones, Gareth (Temple)

Mauer, Rocco (Bowling Green)

Sullivan, Pat (Arkansas State)

Vaha'I, Latu (Army)

The University of Utah defeated rugby powerhouse California 31-26 in sudden death overtime to win the first-ever USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship, which featured the top 16 teams in collegiate sevens rugby. 

The Utes and Golden Bears met in the finals of the three-day, 38 match event held at Columbus Crew Stadium.

Utah was led throughout the tournament by the powerful running and play of Thretton Palamo and the scampering runs of Don Pati.

“This was an historic weekend for introducing USA sevens Rugby to a national audience,” said Dan Lyle, tournament director, USA 7’s.  “We want to congratulate the Utah Utes and all the hard-working teams that competed in the tournament.  We are thrilled at the success of this event and thankful for world-class partners led by NBC for helping raise the profile of USA 7’s Rugby through the 2016 Olympics and beyond.”

“We are honored to broadcast college Rugby 7’s on network television for the first time in history,” said Jon Miller, executive vice president, NBC Sports.  “Rugby 7’s is a fast-paced sport that is tailor-made for TV.  We are excited to share Rugby 7’s with a new audience and help the sport grow in the US.”

Saving the best for last, the championship game ended up being the most exciting of the tournament.  Cal was trailing 26-21 when senior Keegan Engelbrecht touched down for a try with no time remaining.  Engelbrecht missed the conversion to send the game into sudden death overtime.

In overtime, Utah freshman Don Pati scored the winning try to claim victory over a Cal team that just last month won its 25th Rugby 15’s National Championship.

Utah’s run through the tournament saw them turn in victories over Penn State, Ohio State, Bowling Green, Navy and San Diego State.

Utah's win over Cal was even more daunting considering that entering the final match, Cal had outscored its opponents 157-7 in the tournament.

“We came into the tournament really believing in ourselves and confident that we could win the whole thing,” said Utah freshman Don Pati, who scored the winning try in sudden death overtime to give the Utes at 31-26 win.  “When I broke the line for that try, it was an indescribable feeling.”

“The game was all about us sticking to our system and letting our athletes go out and play rugby,” said Utah head coach Jason Pye.  “Obviously, we have some very good rugby players.”

The tournament is a big boost for collegiate sevens as the tournament proved to be very competitive and showed the power and athleticism of the players on the field.

Just as in International Sevens, it also proved that parity exists at all levels of sevens and predetermined outcomes are far from the norm. Collegiate squads that have traditionally struggled to reach the elite in 15's can make a quicker impact in sevens.

This fact should prove to continue with the rapid growth of sevens at the Collegiate level. This will be even more apparent in coming years as the tournament field expands into a series of qualifying rounds that will give more teams the opportunity to compete for a sevens championship.

The USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational featured 16 Division I collegiate traditional powers, including the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Army, Bowling Green, University of  California at Berkeley, Dartmouth, University of Florida, Harvard, Indiana University, Navy, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, San Diego State, University of Tennessee, and the University of Utah.

Bowling Green speedster Rocco Mauer was named tournament MVP as he led the tournament in tries scored and led the Falcons to the Challenger (consolation) bracket title.

Sponsors for the USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational, included Subway, Geico, Bud Light and Toyota.

All-Tournament Team

Nate Ebner (Ohio State)
Keegan Engelbrecht (Cal)
Benji Goff (Tennesse)
Colin Hawley (Cal)
Will Holder (Army)
Seamus Kelly (Cal)
Duncan Kelm (San Diego State)
Rocco Mauer (Bowling Green)
Dustin Muhn (Cal)
Thretton Palamo (Utah)
Don Pati (Utah)
Blaine Scully (Cal)
RUGBYMag.com CCI MVP: Rocco Mauer

Day 1 Results

• San Diego State 17  Florida 7
• Tennessee 24  Indiana 10
• Army 5  Arizona 5
• Navy 12  Arizona State 10
• California 42  Harvard 0
• Dartmouth 19  Notre Dame 5
• Bowling Green 22 Penn State 12
• Utah 19  Ohio State 10

Day 2 Results

• San Diego State 26  Indiana 0
• Tennessee 32  Florida 0
• Arizona State 15  Army 12
• Arizona Wildcats 19  Navy 14
• Cal 17  Notre Dame 7
• Dartmouth 38  Harvard 5
• Ohio State 12  Bowling Green 0
• Utah 24  Penn State 7

Day 3 Results

• Challenger 1/4 Final: Notre Dame 22  Florida 17 (OT)
• Challenger 1/4 Final: Indiana 12  Harvard 0
• Challenger 1/4 Final: Arizona State 24  Penn State 12
• Challenger 1/4 Final: Bowling Green 15  Army 12
• Challenger Semifinal: Arizona State 17  Notre Dame 7
• Challenger Semifinal: Bowling Green 27  Indiana 0
• Challenger Final: Bowling Green 32  Arizona State 12
• Championship 1/4 Final: Cal 36  Tennessee 0
• Championship 1/4 Final: San Diego State 17  Dartmouth 7
• Championship 1/4 Final: Arizona 21  Ohio State 10
• Championship 1/4 Final: Utah 24  Navy 0
• Championship Semifinal: Cal 33  Arizona 0
• Championship Semifinal: Utah 17  San Diego State 10
• Championship Final: Utah 31  Cal 26 (OT) 

This weekend, 16 of the top collegiate rugby teams battle it out for the first-ever Sevens National Championship at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

A joint venture between NBC and USA Sevens, LLC, the Collegiate Championship Invitational beings Friday and goes through Sunday.

Sevens, the 7-on-7 version of rugby, has gained massive momentum in the past eight months after the International Olympic Committee admitted the sport into the Olympics starting in 2016.

Sevens was already popular the world over for it's fast pace, high scoring, and nail-biting action. Now, the American sporting public are getting a taste of rugby, and they're loving it.

“We’ve brought together the best-of-the-best for the inaugural USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational,” said Dan Lyle, tournament director of USA Sevens Rugby. “It’s a great opportunity to expose the sport to a mass audience in anticipation of inclusion in the Olympics.”

This weekend is a major step toward breaking rugby sevens into the American sporting market. The tournament broadcasts live on NBC on Saturday and Sunday, and marks the first time rugby has been broadcast on a major American television network. NBC is offering expanded coverage of the tournament through Universal Sports, and it will also be streaming online via Hulu.

The 16 schools in competition for the title include Arizona, Arizona State, Army, Bowling Green, Cal, Dartmouth, Florida, Harvard, Indiana, Navy, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, San Diego State, Tennessee, and Utah.

Aside from the honor of hoisting the championship trophy, Dallas Mavericks owner and former rugby player, Mark Cuban, has offered a $20,000 scholarship to the winning team.

“I played rugby at Indiana and it has always been one of my passions,” said Cuban. “Between the inception of this USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational, and the reintroduction of Rugby Sevens as an Olympic sport for the first time in over 85 years, it’s an important time for us rugby supporters to help build on the momentum, and I’m honored to do it.”

A portion of Cuban's $20,000 contribution, roughly $5,000, will go towards supporting the Ohio Classic Sevens, which features high-school-aged competitors, who are the future of the sport. The money is intended to support the operations of the rugby teams and their student athletes. 
 
“Mark Cuban is a great friend to the sport of rugby and his support has helped us get to where we are,” said Lyle. “We are so thrilled to have Mark in our corner as we to take Rugby Sevens to the next level.”
 
“James Naismith invented basketball to give him something to do in between rugby seasons and with the similar focuses on teamwork, speed, and strategy between rugby and basketball," said Cuban. "It’s no surprise I am similarly passionate about the two sports."

So, who’s going to win it all?

Pool A

California comes in as a serious favorite to pull off the first double (15s and sevens) championship in collegiate history.

Cal boasts a lineup full of some of the best college rugby players in America, including Colin Hawley and Blaine Scully, who are fresh off playing for the U.S. national team on the IRB World Series, and will be in top form after competeing against some of the best sevens players on the planet.

Cal’s depth doesn’t stop there either. Expect them to take Pool A in fine fashion.

The real battle in Pool A is for the second spot, which still gets a team into the championship round. New England entrants Dartmouth and Harvard set up an Ivy League battle, but with an uncertain outcome. Dartmouth may have the upper hand in 15s, but Harvard won’t go easily in sevens.

Harvard has enticed some cross-over athletes from other sports, but will that translate into wins? Notre Dame rounds out the pool and should be competitive, but not quite ready to challenge for a title.

Pool A Prediction: Cal, Dartmouth, Harvard, Notre Dame

Pool B

Things aren’t as clear-cut in Pool B, but San Diego State comes into the tournament as the favorite. The Aztecs boast another U.S. national team player in speedster Alex Ross, and they play a wide open style of rugby that translates well into sevens.

They’ll get plenty of challenge from Tennessee, Florida, and Indiana, making this an incredibly fun pool to follow.

Tennessee and Florida bring their SEC rivalry onto the rugby pitch, and it should be a great matchup. Tennessee could be a darkhorse team in the entire tournament and boasts one of the top players in the tournament in Benji Goff.

Indiana is another team that could surprise and possibly pull off an upset. The team has been training hard, and has some horses on the squad.

Keep your eye on this pool folks, it should produce some really good games.

Pool B Prediction: San Diego State, Tennessee, Indiana, Florida

Pool C

Pool C is another great pool with four teams that could all challenge for top rights in the pool. This pool boasts not one, but two big rivalries that will be on display for fans.

The service academies, Navy and Army, both have plenty of history in 15s, and expect them to bring the same sort of intense rivalry to the field of sevens. Both teams have a lot of support from their institutions and will come into the tournament fit and ready to play. Their only downfall may be the limited amount of sevens that they have played.

Arizona and Arizona State could also surprise in the pool. Of the two rivals, Arizona has the upper hand and may challenge for a spot in the championship round. They've added rugby player, turned linebacker Brett Thompson to the squad. Big and mobile, Thompson plays for the University of Arizona football team as well.

Arizona State is another team that has some good players and coaching, but may not be quite ready to challenge for a title.

Pool C Prediction: Navy, Army, Arizona, Arizona State

Pool D

The final pool, Pool D, may end up as a battle for second place, but you never know. Utah comes in with some serious firepower and certainly may challenge for the championship.

The Utes are led by Thretton Palamo, who has an extensive amount of experience playing for the National team in both sevens and 15s. Palamo made history in 2007 when he became the youngest player to play in the Rugby World Cup, where he came on for the U.S. against South Africa.

Palamo is joined by Don Pati, a former age-grade national team player, and the two should make a formidable duo.

Barring an upset, Penn State, Ohio State, and Bowling Green may be playing for second place in the pool.

The Ohio State/Penn State battle will be the one to watch in this pool as the two Big 10 rivals go at it with hopes of advancing to the Championship round. Penn State is a perennial power in rugby, and has a budding star in Kevin Kimble.

Ohio State is looking for a boost from the large home crowd and they just may get it. The Buckeyes get a boost to their squad, as they welcome Nate Ebner back onto their team.

Ebner switched sports last year going from rugby to the Buckeye football team. Ebner along with Mickey Franco give the Buckeyes some serious experience on the field.

Bowling Green may not get much attention, but they could be a surprise team in the tournament, and are capable of taking out any of their opponents. Bowling Green is anchored by former U.S. age-grade player Nick Viviani.

Pool D Prediction: Utah, Ohio State, Penn State, Bowling Green

After pool play, the teams are broken into two brackets based on their finish in the pool rounds.

The top two teams from each pool move onto the championship bracket, and a chance to take home the title. The bottom two teams from each pool go into the challenger bracket, which is the consolation group.

Once the teams move out of pool play, it's all single-elimination from there on out. The smallest mistake can end a team's run at the title, and gives added drama to the tournament as the pressure rises.

The selection committee did an excellent job putting the pools together for the tournament. Each group has a traditional rivalry to anchor the pool, while at the same time, they all very evenly balanced.

One of the tag lines from the popular IRB Sevens World Series is that no pool is easy, and the same holds true here. Aside from a couple of favorites, there are 12-14 other teams that can challenge for a spot in the championship round.

Now, if the Collegiate Championship can mirror the IRB Series and produce a few upsets, then things will get very interesting.

“Rugby Sevens is an exciting, fast-paced sport that is growing in global popularity, participation and interest,” said NBC Sports executive vice president Jon Miller.

The potential for this tournament in the future is limitless.

Sources have indicated that the tournament will be expanded as soon as next year to include a handful of qualifying tournaments. The ideal scenario will have four tournaments, totalling 64 of the best collegiate sevens teams in the country. Those 64 teams will then be whittled down to just 16 remaining teams for the championship tournament.

So watch out America, this weekend in Columbus could just be the tip of the iceberg. 

Broadcast Schedule:

NBC Sports live coverage, 4-6 p.m. ET on June 5 and 6

Universal Sports live coverage, 2:00-4 p.m. ET on June 5 and 6

NBC Mobile live simulcast, 4-6 p.m. ET on June 5 and 6

Hulu.com full event coverage available on-demand in HD quality video.

The USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational has officially released their broadcast and match schedule. Set to play June 4-6 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, the championship is the first ever Rugby Sevens Championship contested at the collegiate level.

The USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational will be broadcast live on Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST on Universal Sports and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST on NBC.
 
“We’ve brought together the best of the best for the inaugural USA Sevens Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational,” said Dan Lyle, Tournament Director for USA Sevens Rugby. “It’s a great opportunity to expose the sport to a mass audience in anticipation of inclusion in the Olympics.”

The pool breakdowns for the Collegiate Sevens Championship have been evenly paired, with the emphasis on keeping together some traditional collegiate rivalries.

Pool A: Cal, Dartmouth, Harvard, Notre Dame

Pool B: San Diego State, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana

Pool C: Army, Arizona, Navy, Arizona State

Pool D: Utah, Penn State, Ohio State, Bowling Green

The pairings allow each of the four pools to boast their own rivalry game.

Rivalry matchups include Ivy League stalwarts Dartmouth and Harvard in Pool A, SEC foes Tennessee and Florida in Pool B, Service Academy titans Army and Navy in Pool C, and Big 10 rivals Penn State and Ohio State in Pool D.

Cal, the most decorated collegiate rugby program in the nation, heads into the tournament as early favorites, but the championship is far from decided. If this were a 15s tournament, forget about it. But anything can happen in sevens, and the inaugural Collegiate Sevens Championship should have some surprises in store for fans.

Most importantly, the tournament presents a golden opportunity for teams to make their mark on a national stage.

“Rugby Sevens is such a fast-paced sport that once you watch it you get to appreciate how much endurance and skill it takes to play the game,” said Ohio State head coach Tom Rooney. “Creating a tournament to match up the best of the best on the university level is a great way to showcase the sport to a growing fan base.”

 
Broadcast Schedule:

NBC Sports has live coverage from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST on June 5 and 6.

Universal Sports has live coverage from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST on June 5 and 6.

NBC Mobile has live simulcast from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST on June 5 and 6.

Hulu.com will have full event coverage available on demand in HD quality video.

If the first ever championship wasn’t a monumental enough event for you, the broadcast is the most comprehensive coverage of any event in the history of American rugby.

The Olympics' inclusion of sevens has been a watershed moment for the sport in America. Broadcasters are finally beginning to take notice of the explosive and athletic nature of the sport.

A broadcaster's dream, sevens is positioning itself for massive growth in the coming years.

This article was originally published at Rugby America .

Details are firming up concerning the new Collegiate Sevens Championship set to play June 4-6 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

A joint effort between USA Sevens, LLC, and NBC, the Collegiate Sevens Championship represents the first ever live network television appearance for college rugby in America.

One of the most exciting developments of the past year, the Collegiate Sevens Championship puts college rugby and sevens on display on a platform that has previously shunned the sport.

A few of the participating teams have changed from the original report, but all of the big names are still there.

The 16-team field now consists of Cal, Indiana, Notre Dame, Penn State, Dartmouth, Harvard, Florida, Tennessee, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, Army, Navy, Ohio State, San Diego State, and Bowling Green.

While the announcement of the championship is relatively new, teams were contacted as early as January by USA Sevens, LLC regarding the tournament.

The teams have been announced, but many of them are still awaiting official approval from their universities regarding their participation in the championship.

NBC has provided teams with informational packets requiring permission to use logos and other permissions that will have to get final approval from athletic departments.

“We forwarded the documents to the director of student recreation (we are a sports club and as such fall under their governance). They have indicated that they will help us work our way through the various channels, including the legal department, to see if we can meet the contractual obligations,” said University of Tennessee head coach Butch Robertson.

While the obligations may be steep, this is a positive step forward for rugby and the perception the sport receives on campus and in the media. The fact that NBC is going, at lengths, to secure all the proper rights to market the various collegiate brands immediately raises the bar for rugby across the board.

Future progress, along with the inclusion of rugby sevens in the Olympics, may help rugby stake a foothold akin to varsity athletics. A position some teams have worked very hard to obtain and other teams covet.

“I imagine that we will gain more momentum and traction with the university and alumni, particularly if we represent ourselves well,” said San Diego State head coach Matt Sherman. ”It could lead to future opportunities to showcase sevens around other athletic events, like half time at a football game. It could also potentially lead to greater assistance on campus in the form of funding, access to facilities, etc."

USA Sevens CEO Jon Prusmack added: “The colleges are the future of rugby in the United States. Teaming with NBC Sports takes Rugby Sevens to the next level.”

The pools for the tournament will be released next week at a press conference. It’s a pretty good estimate that they will rank the teams and divide the pools up evenly, with some consideration for natural rivalries.

Expect to see Penn State/Ohio State, Army/Navy, and Florida/Tennessee in the same pools to ensure that the historic collegiate rivalries get their time to shine on national television.

San Diego State’s Matt Sherman summed it up nicely, ”I think sevens is a game that’s attractive to spectators and sponsors with its pace and flow, that’s simple and easy to understand for those new to the game, that has higher levels of parity making most matches competitive between teams that might be mismatched in a 15's game.”

Sherman also added, “I think the Collegiate Sevens Championship is particularly great because we’re seeing the value of college brands being invested in by a network channel.”

The inaugural Rugby Sevens Collegiate Championship will broadcast on NBC Sports on Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6 from 4:30-6 PM (EST).

“Rugby Sevens is an exciting, fast-paced sport that is growing in global popularity, participation and interest,” said NBC Sports executive vice president Jon Miller. “USA Sevens is the ideal partner for this event, which features the best collegiate rugby teams in the country.”

Universal Sports will provide extended coverage on Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6 from 2-4:30 PM (EST).

The tournament opens a new chapter for rugby in America and provides the rightful respect that college rugby deserves.

On the flip side, the tournament also brings to light the lack of a plan from USA Rugby in regards to sevens.

The Olympic decision was a foregone conclusion that many had expected since last summer. The final stamp of approval in October was merely a formality.

Now, almost six months after the announcement, USA Rugby has produced no formal plan for the advancement of sevens (at any level) in the United States.

The reality is that, as an Olympic sport, rugby sevens is now the more visible and recognized variation of the game in America. USA Rugby has seemingly stumbled on this very important leverage point.

This is where USA Sevens, LLC has once again stepped in and proved to be one of the mightiest torch-bearers for rugby in the USA. Aside from the hugely successful USA Sevens tournament, they have now stepped up to the plate and partnered with NBC to launch the Collegiate Sevens Championship.

The tournament is ripe with possibilities and could easily expand into four qualifying tournaments with sixteen teams apiece. Do the math and you get...ahem...64 teams.

Just like March madness.

The biggest issue at hand is the incorporation of sevens into the already muddled and condensed college rugby season. Theoretically, the championship only needs two weekends to complete. The first weekend to play the qualifiers and the second for the championship.

Opinions and speculation, on the subject, have varied from making the fall into sevens season to simply taking two weekends out of the spring to play the sevens championship.

Ultimately, the interest of sponsors and the television networks will determine the final resting place for the competition. Regardless of what USA Rugby or anyone else has to say about the matter.

That being the case, don’t expect NBC or USA Sevens, LLC. to even attempt to compete with college football for revenue dollars or fans. To do so is just asking for failure and neither group is going to put college rugby in that position. Anyone backing a proposal for a fall sevens season and championship is setting the commercial aspects of the competition up for failure.

Tennessee head coach Butch Robertson finished, “any positive exposure for the game in this country is good.  The fact that a major network is on board to broadcast the tournament indicates that they recognize the possibility of a revenue source somewhere.” 

A press conference to announce the final details of the championship is set for April 6 in Columbus, Ohio. The conference includes a final list of participants, TV broadcast schedule, sponsors, and pool breakdowns.

This article was originally published at Rugby America

In the wee hours of the morning on Friday, 24 teams kick off play on day one of the famous Hong Kong Sevens.

One of the most prestigious sevens tournaments on the face of the planet, the Hong Kong Sevens brings together 24 of the top rugby sevens teams in the world for three days of exciting rugby action.

With 24 teams in play, Hong Kong differs from the other stops on the IRB Sevens World Series. The teams are broken into six pools of four teams, compared to the standard four pools at the other IRB Series stops. 

Each of the pool winners advance to the Cup Quarterfinals, with a shot at the tournament title. The remaining two slots in the Cup round go to two wild cards teams based on which of the non-pool winning teams, with with records of 2-1 in pool play and have the greatest points margin.

Samoa rides into the tournament with two consecutive tournament championships (Las Vegas, Adelaide) and have inched within two points of series leader New Zealand. Led by star player Mikaele Pesamino, the squad hasn't lost a game since the Cup Final in Wellington, New Zealand in early February.

Pesamino is lighting up the IRB Series with a series-leading 39 tries in only five tournaments.

"For me (scoring tries) it's awesome. I feel great because my aim is to be top try scorer at all these tournaments and also the Series, put Samoa up to the top level, also myself and my family," said Pesamino. 

The expanded field in Hong Kong provides opportunities for teams that don't get to participate in many IRB Sevens Series events. This includes squads from up and coming Russia, as well as Italy, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, and Korea.

"In Sevens, we're going to be under huge pressure to perform in the Olympic sports - you've seen the reaction of President Medvedev on Russia's performance in the Winter Olympics," said Howard Thomas, the Russian Rugby Union Chief Executive in reference to Medvedev demanding that Russian sports officials step down after the country won a disappointing fifteen medals, three gold, at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

All of these teams are looking to make their mark among the big boys of the IRB Series and will have their chance this weekend.

Fresh off of their first ever trip to the Cup finals in Adelaide, the USA heads to Hong Kong confident in their ability to stand among the best on the series.

“The boys will be up and ready (for Hong Kong). We just have to get better and build more,” said USA Sevens Head Coach Al Caravelli.  

Without any serious injuries to the squad in Adelaide and Paul Emerick back from his three game suspension for a dangerous tackle, the USA is at full strength for Hong Kong.

In fact, they may be even better than they were in Adelaide.

The USA played the entire final day of the tournament without Emerick who has become a major factor on the IRB circuit. In the process of filling that void, Zach Pangelinan stepped up and provided the USA with quality minutes that he may not have received had Emerick not been suspended.

Adelaide gave powerful forward Mark Bokhoven a chance to get back on the pitch and acclimated with the heightened play on the IRB circuit after a series of injuries kept him out of action this season.

Captain Kevin Swiryn also had a break-out performance in Australia. After admittedly playing below his standards in Wellington and Las Vegas, Swiryn showed everyone why he was considered one of the best players on the IRB Series last year scoring four tries in Adelaide and playing with a spark that had been missing since he picked up an injury playing for the Eagles in the Fall.

The rest of the team are also coming into their own, especially Nick Edwards who continues to be among the leaders in tries on the IRB World Series.

The USA find themselves in the most manageable pool they’ve seen all season. That’s not to say that the pool will not provide the USA with plenty of resistance. With the wild card factor in play, the USA will not only be concerned with winning matches, but also points scored. The final two Cup Quarterfinalists will be decided by points differential.

On day one of the tournament the USA gets started against Portugal. The two teams have met eight times on the IRB Series splitting the games evenly. The scores have been tight as well. Their last meeting came earlier in the season in Dubai where the USA narrowly won 5-0. Portugal hasn’t been in the last few events, so they will lack the continuity and momentum that the USA has built, giving the USA the upper hand.

Pressure will be a major factor for the USA players. Will their status as favorites combined with the need to score points take them out of their game plan? Portugal may serve as the most difficult game in the pool for the USA.

The USA starts off day two of the tournament facing Thailand. The two teams have met only once with the USA winning easily 38-7 in Hong Kong in 2001. Thailand should serve as a minor speed bump for the USA. The major onus will be on the USA to run up the score in an attempt to build the largest point differential possible.

They’ll need to do that, because their final pool opponent is none other than Fiji. The two teams know each other well and you can be certain that Fiji will be ready for the USA after the Americans nearly ambushed them in Las Vegas.

Fiji is also looking to bounce back after losing, an unheard of, three games in Adelaide. If the USA sticks to their plan, this is a winnable game. At the very least, the USA needs to keep the scoreline close to improve their chances of reaching the Cup round.

“We need to keep going forward in our development and continue to grow as a team. We’d like to consistently make the top eight, and that means we have to play a tough game, every game,” added Caravelli. “We need to get in the mentality of making every game a final. I have a lot of faith that these guys will be up for that.”

Hong Kong serves as another landmark on the USA’s road to becoming considered among the elite of the sevens world.

Another trip to the Cup round is certainly achievable for the USA and for once it won’t take an upset to get there. The pressure is now on and may prove just as formidable of an opponent.

Pools for the Hong Kong Sevens

Pool A: Samoa, Argentina, Russia, Italy

Pool B: New Zealand, Scotland, France, Chinese Taipei

Pool C: Fiji, USA, Portugal, Thailand

Pool D: Australia, Canada, Tonga, China

Pool E: England, Wales, Japan, Hong Kong

Pool F: Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Korea

IRB Sevens World Series Standings (Top 10)

1. New Zealand

2. Samoa

3. Fiji

4. Australia

5. England

6. Kenya

7. South Africa

8. Argentina

9. USA

10. Wales

This article was originally published on Rugby America .

It wasn’t the Plate Final, not the Bowl Final, and definitely not the Shield Final. The USA Sevens team has made history in Adelaide with their first ever trip to a Cup Final in an IRB World Series event.

In their 52nd tournament appearance the USA has finally broke through to heights that many have dreamed of for years.

Unfortunately, the dream run came to an end at the hands of Samoa, who has now won two consecutive IRB Tournaments.

The USA’s path on the final day of the tournament started with an extra-time victory over Wales. Zach Pangelinan crossed over with time expired to give the USA a dramatic 12-10 win in the Cup Quarterfinal.

The USA followed up with Argentina in the Semifinals and quickly put them under pressure. First half tries from Shalom Suniula and Nick Edwards put the USA ahead 14-0 going into halftime.

Nese Malifa converted his own try to start the second half to extend the lead to 21-0.

Argentina attempted a comeback with two tries to cut the lead to 21-12, but that was all that they could muster.

USA captain Kevin Swiryn closed out the scoring, and the game, with his fourth try of the tournament to seal the 28-12 win and the USA’s first ever trip to the finals.

In the final, Samoa got off to a fast start and immediately put the USA under pressure. Fautua Otto opened up the scoring with a try in the corner to give Samoa a 5-0 lead within the first two minutes of play.

The USA's defense held strong as the team slowly began to put some pressure on Samoa. The hard work paid off as the USA tied the game with a try by Nick Edwards that was set up by a nifty chip and chase from Nese Malifa.

Samoa bounced back almost immediately as star player Mikalae Pesamino cut a path through the USA's defense for a try underneath the goal posts. The conversion gave Samoa the lead 12-5 just before halftime. Pesamino nearly added another score just before half with a kick and chase that displayed Pesamino’s impressive speed.

Trailing just 12-5 going into the second half put the USA within striking distance of the heavily favored Samoa.

Samoa found their stride in the second half adding tries from Ofisa Treviranus, Otto, Pesamino, and Uale Mai to scream out to a 38-5 lead.

The pressure of playing in their first Final caught up to the USA as small mistakes began to set in and the squad’s tackle rate fell. Despite trailing, the USA battled all the way to the finish and the team was rewarded with one last score as Zach Pangelinan crossed over to close the scoreline at 38-10 in favor of Samoa.

“We didn’t play our best and they [Samoa] did,” said Swiryn.

A disappointing finish, but yet another indicator that the USA is breaking through at the highest level of sevens. The trip to the Finals also garnered the USA twenty more IRB points and puts the team firmly in position to return as an IRB “Core” team next season.

"Core" members of the IRB Series are teams that compete in all eight IRB Series tournaments. The USA's return, as core members, has coincided with their rise towards the top level of teams in the world.

USA Head Coach Al Caravelli summed it up, “we continue to make improvements, and that’s our goal for this squad. When we maintain possession and stick to our game plan, it doesn’t matter who we play, the scoreline reflects it.”

The team rides the high note onto Hong Kong where they are pooled with Fiji, Portugal, and Thailand. As favorable of a draw as the USA has seen all season, the team cannot overlook their less experienced opponents.

Another trip to the Quarterfinals may be in order for the USA. The USA has been notoriously slow starters in regards to each leg of the IRB Series. They tend to perform even better in the second tournament of each leg. If that is any indication, next weekend in Hong Kong should be another great one for the USA.

Champions from IRB World Series from Adelaide, Australia

Cup: Samoa
Plate: New Zealand
Bowl: England
Shield: Japan

The Adelaide, Australia stop on the popular IRB Sevens World Series kicked off today with a bang.

Two upsets in the eight games played on Day One of the tournament highlights the increased competition and parity that is becoming a key ingredient of the success of rugby sevens.

Wales knocked off powerhouse Fiji 17—12 to notch the first upset of the day.

The USA laid claim to the second upset of the day as history repeated itself. The last American victory over England came in Adelaide in 2008 and they have done it again with a 24-21 victory over England.

England came into Adelaide in fourth place on the IRB Series. The two teams had met twice earlier in the season, with England cruising to two easy victories.

This time around, however, it was the Americans that came on top. The USA got two tries from team captain, Kevin Swiryn and held off England down the stretch.

England got off to a fast start with a try from Mat Turner forty seconds into the game and the conversion from Ben Gollings put England ahead 7—0.

The remainder of the first half belonged to the USA, with tries from Swiryn, Nick Edwards and Matt Hawkins. The final try of the half served as not only a boost on the scoreboard, but in confidence as well.

After defending deep in their own half as time clicked away on the first half, the USA got a big turnover and finished with a Matt Hawkins score to extend their lead to 17—7 going into halftime.

“They (the USA) had a true belief in themselves and that they could beat England,” said USA Sevens Head Coach Al Caravelli.

England got on the board first in the second half. Gollings, the IRB Sevens all—time leader in points, added to his totals with a try and conversion to cut the USA's lead to 17—14.

Swiryn, fully healthy after still feeling the effects of injuries in the last two IRB tournaments, struck back a minute later with his second try of the game. The conversion from Nese Malifa gave the USA a 24—14 lead.

England cut into the lead one last time with a Nick Royal try and conversion from Gollings to place the score at 24—21 with less than two minutes on the clock.

The USA’s defense held firm and sealed the unlikely victory. It was only the third time the USA has defeated England (3-13 all—time record) since the inception of the IRB Series.

The win over England is a major boost and the first time all season the USA has opened a tournament with a win. The victory also runs the USA’s winning streak to five games, which is the team’s longest ever.

The win does not give the USA an automatic trip to the Cup Round, though. It's a great start, but with two more pool games to play, the USA still has plenty of work to do.

England will most certainly bounce back and could press the issue if they win their remaining two pool games and the US, England and Australia each finish the pool round with 2—1 records.

At that point, it may all come down to points difference, which is the tie—breaker on the IRB circuit. Australia has put themselves in good position already, with an easy 40—5 win over Niue.

The USA needs to avoid a letdown on Day Two, especially against Australia. A win against the host team will seal a trip to the Quarterfinals for the USA. A loss to Australia will put the USA in a position where they have to run up the score on Niue in their final pool match.

Here are all the results from Day One of the Adelaide Sevens:

• USA 24  England 21
• Australia 40  Niue 5
• Argentina 19  Tonga 17
• New Zealand 31  Scotland 0
• Kenya 27 Papa New Giunea
• Wales 17  Fiji 12
• South Africa 40  Japan 0
• Samoa 33  France 12

This article was originally published on Rugby America .

After a strong week of practice, the USA Sevens team has been named for the next leg of the IRB Sevens World Series.

The squad heads off to Adelaide, Australia for the first tournament (March 19-21), and will then compete in the world famous Hong Kong Sevens (March 26-28).

Head Coach Al Caravelli has whittled down a group of nineteen players into twelve. The most important factor being that the team is reaching new heights in terms of consistency in their lineup. After playing years with a seemingly revolving lineup at each leg of the IRB Series, Caravelli and USA fans are excited about the prospects.

“I’m extremely pleased that we have nine of the players who were in Las Vegas on this tour, and that Mark Bokhoven joins the squad back from injury,” Caravelli said. “That gives us ten players who have played in the series thus far this season. That is huge for us. That experience is invaluable, and doesn’t come our way too often.”

Squad consistency has been a key factor in the team’s resurgence after a rough start to the IRB Series season. In the last two legs of the series, the USA won the Shield title in Wellington, New Zealand and collected the Bowl title on home soil in Las Vegas. The Bowl title in Las Vegas also came with the USA’s first IRB Series points of the season.

Now that the ice has been broken, the USA looks to seal their status as a ”core” member of the IRB Series. Picking up points in Adelaide and/or Hong Kong will go a long way towards reaching that goal.
 
“The preparation has been outstanding this week in all aspects of the game. The players are chomping at the bit to play England next Friday night,” Caravelli added in reference to the USA’s opening match in Australia. 
 
The nine returning players to the squad are Captain Kevin Swiryn, Vice-Captain Matt Hawkins, Nese Malifa, Nick Edwards, Zach Test, Paul Emerick, Marco Barnard, Shalom Suniula, and Leonard Peters—all of whom played vital roles in the USA's recent surge.

Mark Bokhoven also makes his return to the team after battling injuries early in the series. One of the most gifted athletes in the squad, Bokhoven is a welcome, powerful, and experienced addition to the team.

New to the team is former Missouri football star Tommy Saunders, who proved to be the fittest player at camp. Saunders registered an impressive fourteen on the beep test.

For those of you out there that have been through a beep test, you know what it takes. For everyone else, trust me…it is beyond difficult.
 
“We have never had a football player without rugby experience crush the beep test the way he did,” Caravelli said. “He is still learning the game, but he makes up for his lack of experience with his athleticism.”
 
Also new to the team is Zach Pangelinan, who played in four IRB Sevens tournaments last season, but until now had yet to make this season’s tour squad. 
 
“He (Pangelinan) has also come back with renewed energy and seriousness. You can tell he has matured and that he wants to represent the USA more than ever,” Caravelli added.
 
“I am thrilled with the level of focus every athlete brought to every field training, weight room and video sessions,” Caravelli finished. “They were switched on 100 percent every aspect of the way. It was a pleasure to see their professional attitude and how each of them continued to push each other. This has to be our best camp in those regards. The players really took to heart the phrase of ‘raising the bar’! They did it everyday, and continue to really push each other to higher levels.”

This time last year, the USA Sevens teamz—anchored by the likes of Todd Clever, Chris Wyles, and Takuzdwa Ngwenya—began to disband, leaving the team to limp through the final two legs of the IRB Series while their stars returned to their professional rugby clubs.

The poor finish left many wondering how long it would take for the USA to rebuild. After all, that particular group of players took almost three years to develop.

The slow start to the season reinforced many of those worries, but Caravelli forged ahead, putting together a tight knit group of players capable of competing with the best in the world. 

Now comes the really hard part. The promise and potential of a young squad has begun to turn the corner towards success far earlier than most expected.

The team will now deal with the pressure of going from underdog to darkhorse.

USA Sevens Squad for Australia & Hong Kong

Barnard, Marco (Kutztown)
Bokhoven, Mark (Denver Barbarians)
Edwards, Nick (New York Athletic Club)
Emerick, Paul (Parma, Italy)
Hawkins, Matt (Belmont Shore) [Vice Captain]
Malifa, Valenese (Belmont Shore)
Pangelinan, Zach (Old Mission Bay Athletic Club)
Peters, Leonard (Aspen)
Saunders, Tommy (Kansas City Blues)
Suniula, Shalom (Pearl City)
Swiryn, Kevin (Old Puget Sound Beach) [Captain]
Test, Zach (Loughborough University)