Denver Repeats at Serevi Rugbytown Sevens

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.