August 28, 2016
Serevi Rugbytown Sevens Day Two
Doug Coil
The Serevi Rugbytown Sevens is being held August 26-28, 2016 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado. Twenty teams are competing in the tournament for the win and $10,000.
Day One: August 26, 2016 Recap
Day Two: August 27, 2017
On Day 2 of the 2016 Serevi RugbyTown Sevens at Infinity Park in Glendale included the conclusion of Pool Play, the Armed Forces Championship and the quarterfinal matches.
Pool A fielded teams from the five U.S. Military branches with Army going 4-0 and Air Force 3-1 with their only loss 41-0 to Army.
With Army and Air Force finishing first and second in Pool A, it set up a rematch to determine this year’s Armed Forces champion. Army proved to be the tougher opponent in winning the Military Championship 55-5. Rocco Mauer was the Man of the Match in scoring four of Army’s nine tries.
This was the fourth-straight time Army has won the Military Championship in the five years of SRS.
Army captain Andrew Locke said “We love having this event here as part of the Armed Forces Championship. We could have it anywhere in the country, but we love having it right here in Glendale. We have two or three guys that are probably deploying here in the next couple of months. We represent your Army and it’s an honor to represent the Army.”
Championship matches are ten minute halves, so while Army and Air Force playing an extra match for the Military Championship is an honor and is desired, it still can have a physical toll in later matches.
Less than 90 minutes later, Army faced Tiger Rugby, who finished second in Pool D. Tiger Rugby withstood a late Army try that when the conversion was missed sent Tiger Rugby into the Cup semi-final and Army to the Plate Semi-final.
In Pool B, both the SoCal Griffins and Glendale Raptors finished with the same 3-1-0 records following their 19-19 draw on Day 1. The Griffins had the better point differential and were the first seed, while Glendale was second.
In the Cup quarterfinal, the Raptors faced a formidable opponent in the British Army, winners of Pool C. Glendale was up to the task defeating British Army 26-5.
Raptors Head Coach Andre Snyman said of the British Army team that “Everybody thought that they would walk all over us. I’m really stoked at the manner the guys battled up and we walked away with a victory. Our defense was unbelievable. We rattled them. We didn’t give away space and time for them to do what their strength is, to move the ball and look for space. We just shut them down. It really paid off.”
With the win, the Raptors and Tiger Rugby will play each other in the Cup Semi-Finals on Sunday at 1:58 p.m. MDT.
Synman then added about the semi-final that “It’s going to be a tough game. “The tigers are a really well drilled side. They train together every day. They know each other and have some big names. It’s going to be a challenge and I see another physical game coming up.”
Another local favorite, the Denver 7s came in second in Pool C, but also will be playing in the Cup Semi-finals after they dispatched the SoCal Griffins 14-10. Their defense of last year’s title continues into the semi-finals Sunday at 2:17 p.m. where they will face the Ramblin Jesters, Pool D winners. The undefeated Jesters beat the U.S. Air Force 45-0 in their quarterfinal.
Denver’s Head Coach Steve Laporta said “We just had all 12 guys step up for us today. We went through a little adversity. We didn’t have Maximo DeAchaval for that last game but the rest of the guys really stepped up and made the plays they needed to. I’m incredibly proud of the effort and the heart.”
Sunday’s matches will begin at Noon MDT with semifinal matches followed by the Shield, Bowl, Plate, 3rd Place and Cup Finals.
There will also be a performance by the Mile Highlanders pipe band at 2:45pm prior to the Finals kicking off at 3:40pm. The Cup Final will conclude this premier tournament at 5:20pm.
Other Rugbytown Sevens Articles
- Pool A: US Army, US Navy, US Marines, US Air Force, US Coast Guard
- Pool B: Bermuda 7s, Black Dragons, Glendale Raptors, Royal Air Force, SoCal Griffins
- Pool C: Atavus All-Stars, Atlantis Rugby, British Army, Denver 7s, Rugby Utah
- Pool D: Negro y Azul, Ramblin Jesters, Stars Rugby 7s, Tiger Rugby, Roques Rugby
Aug.26 Schedule (Matches 1-28), Aug. 27 (29-49), Aug 28 (50-62)
- 12:00pm A US Army 39-0 US Air Force
- 12:10pm A US Navy 15-10 US Coast Guard
- 12:18pm B Glendale Raptors 24-7 Bermuda
- 12:38pm B SoCal Griffins 42-12 Royal Air Force
- 1:20pm C Denver 7s 33-19 Atlantis Rugby
- 1:39pm C British Army 19-12 Rugby Utah
- 1:58pm D Negro y Azul 15-14 Roques Rugby
- 2:17pm D Ramblin Jesters 36-7 Stars Rugby 7s
- 2:40pm A US Army 29-7 US Marines
- 2:59pm A US Air Force 38-5 US Navy
- 3:18pm B Glendale Raptors 15-5 Royal Air Force
- 3:37pm B Bermuda 0-44 SoCal Griffins
- 4:00pm C Denver 7s 28-21 Atavus All-Stars
- 4:19pm C Atlantis Rugby 10-12 British Army
- 4:38pm D Negro y Azul 19-33 Ramblin Jesters
- 4:57pm D Rogues Rugby 7-34 Tiger Rugby
- 5:20pm A US Army 26-7 US Navy
- 5:39pm A US Air Force 14-5 US Coast Guard
- 5:58pm B Glendale Raptors 19-19 SoCal Griffins
- 6:17pm B Royal Air Force 24-12 Black Dragons
- 6:40pm C Denver 7s 28-12 Rugby Utah
- 6:59pm C Atlantis Rugby 12-24 Atavus All-Stars
- 7:18pm D Ramblin Rugby 24-12 Tiger Rugby
- 7:37pm D Rogues Rugby 40-14 Stars Rugby 7s
- 8:00pm A US Coast Guard 14-19 US Marines
- 8:19pm B Black Dragons 28-12 Bermuda
- 8:38pm C British Army 26-14 Atavus All-Stars
- 8:57pm D Negro y Azul 12-24 Tiger Rugby
- 12:00pm A US Army 29-7 US Coast Guard
- 12:19pm A US Navy 14-17 US Marines
- 12:38pm B Glendale Raptors 29-7 Black Dragons
- 12:57pm B Bermuda 12-14 Royal Air Force
- 1:20pm C Atlantis Rugby 5-42 Rugby Utah
- 1:39pm C Denver 7s 17-26 British Army
- 1:58pm D Negro y Azul 50-0 Stars Rugby 7s
- 2:17pm D Rogues Rugby10-31 Ramblin Jesters
- 2:40pm A US Air Force 27-7 US Marines
- 2:59pm B Black Dragons 0-38 SoCal Griffins
- 3:18pm C Rugby Utah 33-5 Atavus All-Stars
- 3:37pm D Tiger Rugby 33-10 Stars Rugby 7s
- 4:30pm US Armed Forces Championship Army 55-5 Air Force
- 5:01pm Bowl QF US Marines 12-14 Black Dragons
- 5:20pm Bowl QF Rugby Utah 40-10 Upright Rugby Rogues
- 5:39pm Bowl QF Negro y Azul 26-7 US Navy
- 5:58pm Bowl QF Royal Air Force 7-29 Atavus All-Stars
- 6:21pm Cup QF US Army 12-14 Tiger Rugby
- 6:40pm Cup QF British Army 5-26 Glendale Raptors
- 6:69pm Cup QF Ramblin Jesters 45-0 US Air Force
- 7:18pm Cup QF SoCal Griffins 10-14 Denver 7s
- 12:00pm Shield SF: U.S. Marines Upright Rugby Rogues
- 12:19pm Shield SF: U.S. Navy Royal Air Force
- 12:38pm Bowl SF: Black Dragons Rugby Utah
- 12:57pm Bowl SF: Negro y Azul Atavus All-Stars
- 1:20pm Plate SF: British Army U.S. Army
- 1:39pm Plate SF: U.S. Air Force SoCal Griffins
- 1:58pm Cup SF: Tiger Rugby Glendale Raptors
- 2:17pm Cup SF: Ramblin Jesters Denver 7s
- 3:40pm Shield Final: Winner 50 Winner 51
- 4:05pm Bowl Final: Winner 52 Winner 53
- 4:30pm Plate Final: Winner 54 Winner 55
- 4:55pm 3rd Place: Loser 56 Loser 57
- 5:20pm Cup Final: Winner 56 Winner 57