2018 USA Rugby Club 7s Nationals

The 2018 USA Rugby Emirates Airline Club 7s National Championship will be held on August 11-12 at Baker Athletics Complex at Columbia University in New York City. Sixteen men’s and women’s teams will be competing for the Emil Signes Cup.

Watch the Club 7s Nationals live on florugby.com or attend obtaining tickets at usaclub7s.com/tickets. Use Discount Code EMPIRE1776 for discounted tickets in advance of the event!

2018 USA Rugby Club 7s Nationals: Men’s Pools

A: Denver Barbarians, Mystic River, Atlanta Old White, Belmont Shore Gold
B: Washington Athletic, Metropolis Rugby, Santa Monica Dolphins, New Orleans Rugby
C: Old Blue of New York, Dallas Rugby, Cleveland Academy, Kansas City Blues
D: Belmont Shore, Bulldog Rugby, Beltway Elite, New York Athletic Club

2018 USA Rugby Club 7s Nationals: Women’s Pools

Life West Gladiatrix, DC Furies, Rocky Mountain Magic, Phoenix Rugby (FL)
San Diego Surfers, Chicago Lions, Berkeley All Blues, American Rugby PRO White
Washinton Athletic, New York Rugby, Atlanta Harlequins, Northern Virginia
American Rugby PRO Blue, Scion Sirens, Metropolis Rugby, Boston Rugby

2018 USA Rugby Club 7s Men’s Teams

Season polls are an indicator of predicted success at nationals. Stronger regions in the past also have a greater number of teams advancing from that region. Prior to the last round of qualifiers last weekend, the 1-5 men’s ranking went to Washington Athletic, Old Blue, Belmont Shore, Denver Barbarians, and Bulldog Rugby.

The USA Rugby Men’s Club Nationals has been held thirty four times with Belmont Shore Rugby Club winning three times, Old Blue of New York twice, and with the Denver Barbarians finishing second eight times.

Western Region

The Frontier region also had three teams qualifying with the Denver Barbarians defeating Bulldog Rugby in the Championship, while the roles were reversed in an earlier qualifier. The Kansas City Blues received the third seed.

On the strength of Belmont Shore Rugby winning the Western Open Qualifier, the Pacific South Region added a third team to Nationals this year with the Pacific North losing a team. Santa Monica Dolphins secured the second seed and on the strength of making a PAC South Finals, Belmont Shore Gold, who before the season had Belmont Shore split their team into two independent squads, earned the third spot.

Washington Athletic Club claimed the Pacific North Championship beating Life West and also won the first qualifier. Rounding out the Western Region was Dallas Rugby, winner of the Eastern Open Qualifier, the other Red River Qualifiers, except coming in second to the Austin Huns at the Houston 7s. New Orleans Rugby secured the second Red River seed.

Eastern Region

The Northeast 1-3 ranked teams had Old Blue of New York winning all four of the qualifiers. Mystic River finished second three times, while New York Athletic Club finished second once and third three times. All three clubs have been among the top teams nationally in the past.

The Mid-Atlantic teams had four qualifiers with Beltway Elite narrowly defeating Schuylkill River in three of the four finals. In the South Region, Atlanta Old White was the first team to qualify for Nationals.

Last weekend, was a winner take all Mid-West Championships. The first seed was not a surprise with Metropolis Rugby winning the Championship. The second seed went to the Cleveland Academy, who defeated the Chicago Lions to earn a trip to Nationals.

2018 USA Rugby Club 7s Women’s Teams

The top five teams according to the last USA Club 7s Poll were Life West Gladiatrix, New York Rugby, San Diego Surfers, Scion Sirens, and American Rugby PRO Blue.

This is the eighth USA Rugby Women’s Club 7s Nationals and six of the titles have been won by the SAn Diego Surfrers, Scions Sirens, American Rugby Pro, and by the Berkeley All Blues.

Western Region

The Pacific North Region has been the strongest of the Western Regions. The region has three seeds with Life West winning the PAC North Championship, Washington Athletic second, and third going to Berkeley All- Blues, who defeated Oregon Sports Rugby Union to qualify.

Perennial PAC South Champion San Diego Surfers will be a force along with Red River number one seed American Rugby PRO Blue. The second Red River seed also went to American Rugby PRO, who split their team prior to the qualifiers with White emerging as the second seed. The Rocky Mountain Magic round out the Western Region teams.

Eastern Region

The Mid-Atlantic region was one of the strongest Eastern Regions with three teams going to Nationals. The Scion Sirens gained the top seed, although the second seed DC Furies won the last title. Northern Virginia secured the third seed.

In the Northeast, New York Rugby Club won all three tournaments with Boston Rugby Club defeating Beantown for the second seed.

The South Region was determined early with the Atlanta Harlequins representing the region.

Last weekend, the Midwest Region Championship was held with the Chicago Lions defeating Metropolis Rugby 27-7 to earn the number one seed, with Metropolis the second. Both teams were no strangers to meeting in the finals.

Conclusion

The 2018 USA Rugby Emirates Airlines Club 7s Nationals moves to the East Coast to New York City for the first time in recent years. The Washington DC to Boston megalopolis contains 17% of the U.S. population and has the largest number of rugby clubs for any region in the country.

The tournament should not be missed and who will ultimately emerge as the Men’s and Women’s champions will be decided August 12.