August 29, 2016
Denver Repeats at Serevi Rugbytown Sevens

Photo: Serevi Rugbytown Sevens
Doug Coil
The Serevi Rugbytown Sevens was held August 26-28, 2016 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado. Twenty teams competed in the tournament for the win and $10,000. Local favorites Glendale Raptors and Denver 7s met for the Championship and Denver emerged with a 31-24 win for back-to-back Championships.
Denver Captain Maximo DeAchaval said postgame “It was a great tournament and a very tough pool. But that’s how tournaments go, you have to win every game.”
Denver took an early 19-0 lead on the strengthn of two Ben Pinkelman tries and another by Gannon Moore. Max DeAchaval converted the first two.
A high tackle of Glendale Raptors’ Dewon Reed resulted in a penalty try that was converted. The Raptors would attack again deep in Denver’s territory, but was not able to keep control of the ball.
Denver capitalized on a turnover early in the second half to increase their lead to 24-7, but consecutive Glendale tries by Cody Melphy and Dewon Reed closed the gap to 24-19.
In the last minute, Denver added another try by Gannon Moore and Glendale answered right back with a try from Peceli Rinakama as the match ended 31-24 to Denver.
Mike Dunafon, Major of Glendale, congratulated the victors and then spoke about the Glendale Raptors Captain DeWon Reed’s final game as a Raptor.
DeWon Reed said “I’ve been here since it started. I’ll miss everybody. I want to say thank you the fans, the coaches and everyone that I’ve been around since I moved here. You changed my whole game and made me a better person inside the field and also off the field.”
The Glendale Raptors were undefeated in Pool play with a lone tie to the SoCal Griffins. In the Cup quarterfinals they won 26-5 against the British Army and then won their semi-final match against Tiger Rugby 17-5.
The third Place match featured the Ramblin Jesters against Tiger Rugby Cubs. The Jesters led 24-7 at halftime, but the Tiger Rugby charged back. It wasn’t enough as the Jesters claimed third with a 31-21 win.
Jesters captain Niall Barry said “We love this tournament. It’s our first time here and it’s a great atmosphere, great stadium and facilities. We’re just thankful we could be here.”
The Plate Final was another exciting match as the British Army emerged with a 20-12 win over the SoCal Griffins. British Army captain Tams Tamatawale said “I believe we represent the forces and those who are serving everywhere. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t make it to the Cup final, but that’s rugby. It’s a great honor.”
The Bowl Final went right down to the wire as Rugby Utah faced Negro Y Azul of Texas. Utah captain Don Pati tackle of Azul winger Gerson Blaise on the final play of the match, caused a knock on right at the try line. With the tackle, Utah held on to a 21-19 win. Don Pati also had two tries for the victors..
Pati said “I wouldn’t picture any better ending playing against Negro y Azul. It was well fought and we were really lucky that the ref gave us that win.”
In the Shield Final the Royal Air Force defeated the Upright Rougby Rogues from Canada 17-14.
On Saturday, the Military Championship was won by the U.S. Army over the U.S. Air Force. In the Plate semi-final, another military pairing occurred. The British Army claimed a 31-12 win over the U.S. Army and went on to claim the Plate Championship with their win over the SoCal Griffins. The Griffins defeated the other Military Championship Finalist Air Force 42-5 earlier that day.
Waisale Serevi added some concluding comments at the tournament saying “It’s an honor and privilege to have a partnership with Glendale, Infinity Park, and Glendale Rugby. To give an opportunity for all U.S. players to showcase their talent, I think we’re moving in the right place. I believe this is the strongest tournament in Canada and in the U.S.A.”
The Serevi Rugbytown Sevens, in its fifth year of play, produced a quality tournament that captivated the fans and viewers with the outstanding play.
I want to thank Marco Cummings for the quotes used from his recap for the Serevi Rugbytown Sevens News.
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 12-41 Upright Rugby Rogues
- 12:19pm Shield SF: U.S. Navy 7-41 Royal Air Force
- 12:38pm Bowl SF: Black Dragons 5-40 Rugby Utah
- 12:57pm Bowl SF: Negro y Azul 22-19 Atavus All-Stars
- 1:20pm Plate SF: British Army 31-12 U.S. Army
- 1:39pm Plate SF: U.S. Air Force 5-42 SoCal Griffins
- 1:58pm Cup SF: Tiger Rugby 5-17 Glendale Raptors
- 2:17pm Cup SF: Ramblin Jesters 12-19 Denver 7s
- 3:40pm Shield Final: Upright Rugby Rogues 14-17 Royal Air Force
- 4:05pm Bowl Final: Rugby Utah 21-19 Negro y Azul
- 4:30pm Plate Final: British Army 20-12 SoCal Griffins
- 4:55pm 3rd Place: Tiger Rugby 21-31 Ramblin Jesters
- 5:20pm Cup Final: Glendale Raptors 24-31 Denver 7s