Dallas RFC Release
This weekend, the Dallas Rugby Football Club (“DRFC”) seeks to accomplish the historic feat of claiming two USA Club Rugby championships in the same season. Fresh off the heels of its USA Rugby’s Senior Club Championship in XVs, DRFC heads to St. Louis, Missouri this weekend to compete for a USA Club Rugby 7s National Championship.
Unlike XVs, which features fifteen players per team and 40-minute halves, 7s involves seven players from each team, and 7-minute halves. Both versions of the sport are played on a soccer-sized field. However, with fewer players, 7s—the version of the sport played in the Olympics—is a much faster paced game. Sevens is also played in a tournament format that may involve up to five matches in a day. . . and that’s a lot in the Texas heat!
Coached by Chris and Lynn Howard, DRFC 7s swept all three regional qualifying tournaments over the summer, earning a berth to the 7s National Championship. During that run, DRFC outscored its opponents 553 to 85, never giving up more than 2 trys in a single match. The focus and resolve of the team is a result of the hard work put in at every training. DRFC’s top side players were pushed this season by its second side, which competed in and won the regional Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana & Arkansas (“TOLA”) competition. Lynn and Chris also set out to make each practice harder than the tournaments. With help from challenging fitness sessions and live play with the men’s TOLA side, they accomplish just that.
DRFC is one of only 16 men’s teams from across the country that earned the right to compete in the National Tournament. The Tournament will be played at Emerson Central Fields in St. Louis, and runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on August 13 & 14. Entry to the tournament is free, and matches can also be viewed for free online at www.TheRugbyNetwork.com.
