upcoming USA Rugby Events of 2017

USA Rugby Events 2017

           

Oct-2016	America Pacific Challenge (Fiji, Samoa, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada and USA -B teams) Uruguay hosted
All year 2017	World Seven series
February-2017	Americas Rugby Championship- round robin
October, 2017	Rugby League World Cup 2017 -New Zealand
Feb, 2018	Americas Rugby Championship
2018	Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 - USA host
February, 2019	Americas Rugby Championship-
Aug, 2019	Pan Am Games - Peru Seven
Sept-Nov, 2019	Rugby World Cup 2019- Japan

Well as you know there are 3 Rugby games; Rugby Sevens, Rugby League (13 per side) and the Rugby Union (15 per side). Rugby is big in college and the best teams are on the west coast.There was such a difference in quality that the better college rugby teams formed their own playoff. University of California has won an astonishing 26 Championships, not bestowed on them by the NCAA. They are the New Zealand of College Rugby. After college the sport is in its infancy. A new Pro Rugby league started this year in America, Rugby Seven was introduced in the last Olympics 2016 and the Rugby League has a small following on the East Coast. The USA national teams of Rugby are similar to the national soccer team. They both field competitive teams but are outmatched against the best nations in the sport. Similarly the USA Rugby is improving rapidly up the World ranking. We will see a World Cup in Rugby before we see it in soccer.  

USA Sevens (World Ranking #6)

            Well let’s start with the most popular one in the USA. This has to be the Rugby Sevens. The RIO Olympics 2016 just featured one of the big 2 tournaments in the Sevens (the other being the Rugby Sevens World Cup). The USA played very well but did not make the top knockout round. It was unfortunate. The lost the Argentina and eventual Champions Fiji, while beating the host Brazil twice and Spain which was good for 9th place out of 16. I believe the USA is about the 6^th best team in world according to their ranking.  The USA will again be one of the core teams in the Rugby Seven Series 2016-2017 and again will host one of the 10 legs in Vegas.  

        The big news for the USA national team and the sport is that the USA will host the next World Cup, the 2018 Rugby World Cup Seven in San Jose and San Francisco. The Sevens has become a big hit in the states since the national team can compete with the elite of the World very quickly.

USA Rugby Union - USA rank 16^th

            The last Rugby World Cup 2015 was held in London. This tournament proved that the USA is lagging well behind the best in the World in this sport. The USA went 0-4 in group play. They lost to South Africa, Scotland, Japan and Samoa. The next World Cup in 2019 in Japan and the USA Eagles have a lot of work to do to get ready for this one.

         The biggest news on this front is the USA just started a pro League called Pro Rugby that launched in April and concluded July in 2016. It is now being eyed by European leagues (Pro 12) as an expansion area for their league. The Pro Rugby owner doesn’t want to invade his potential profit and there is a war of words on what will be best for USA Rugby. Any attention is good. The USA however is way behind the top nations of New Zealand, Australia and S Africa as well as the top European teams. The Eagles are Ranked 16 and Canada 17 and Uruguay 18th. 

       The good news is the USA will now enter into a yearly tournament called the Americas Rugby Championship against Argentina B team called Argentina XV, Canada, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. This tournament will put the Eagles in a very competitive tournament every year against their level of competition. The next tournament starts  in February.  .

USA Rugby (World Rank 13^th   League)

            There is a Rugby League that operates on the east coast on the USA with 14 teams. It has 3 divisions. The Philadelphia Flight has won 4 of the 6 championships and are your current Champion.

         The last Rugby League World Cup was 2013 which was the USA Tomahawks or Hawks enter their  first League World Cup. The were beat in the knockout round 62-0 against Australia. The did however beat Cook Islands and Wales,,,losing to Scotland in competitive games. The next World Cup is in 2017 in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The World Cup expanded from 5 teams in 1992 to 10 in 1995. There will be 14 nations competing in 2017. Lets hope the Hawks can close the gap here also. They only have til next year to get this together.

      A new tournament was just announced this year called the Rugby League Americas Cup 2017. The only nations to participate in 2016 will be the USA, Canada and Jamaica.The games will be played in Philadelphia and Toronto to determine the Americas Champion. These 3 nations  competed to qualify for the 2017 World Cup with the USA winning in 2015. The USA will represent the Americas in next years Rugby League World Cup.

2016 Rugby Americas North Championship. results

Saint Mary's Rugby grounds the day of competition. 

       The 2016 RAN Sevens will be the 16th edition of the annual rugby sevens tournament organized by Rugby Americas North. It will be played in Trinidad and Tobago at Saint Mary's College in Port of Spain.    

   I do not know how but T&T always seem to host these international events. They hosted the most Caribbean Cups. Now they have hosted a Rugby international tournament. 

The top two teams (excluding Canada) will qualify for the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens for a chance to qualify as a core team in the Sevens World Series. The USA did not enter this tournament since the competition is a tier below the USA. The USA is already a core nation in the World Seven series. 

      Canada also is a step above these countries and is a core team in the World Seven series.Canada probably entered just to get some experience and playing time for their team. 

Well Canada walloped the competition in Trinidad and Tobago. I am sure Canadians feel pretty good seeing their nation reaching and winning the Cup bracket. It is usually Mexico and Jamaica who have the edge in soccer. Canada made them realize the Canadians dominate in this sport over them. Canada only gave up 5 points.  

     Well we know about Canada but the other nations have pretty competitive teams when they play each other. I would have to say Guyana, Jamaica, T&T and Mexico are all about the same standard. Mexico placing 5th but they gave the Canadians their biggest match ...losing 24-0. No other team came that close. It was unfortunate that Mexico had to face Canada in the opening knockout round. 

   

   With that being said...The 2016 Rugby American North sevens is in the books. Guyana and Jamaica will participate in the Hong Kong series. 

The hong Kong series 

USA Rugby 7 CApe Town Knockout rounds

The good news is the USA were playing in the top bracker this series. The last series they were playing against the bottom 8.

The USA lost a tight game against a strong Scotland team. They then were relegated to the losers bracket.

They lost again to Fiji...


This placed them 8th.....this is an improvement from 9th last tournement
Well it is an improvement

Fans From Cape Town

Looks like something is getting passed here. Pass

The Pecker Checker. The poor girl to the right...How do you think she feesl

Sants's

Sorry---but i would be look at them all tournament

The girl on the left got a lay that day

Poncho's , beer and Rugby

Txt me baby

WTF.

USA in the 2016-17 Dubai Seven Series.

2016 Dubai Seven Series

                This was the kick off tournament for the 2016-17 Seven Series. The USA placed 6^th overall after the entire 2015-15 Seven Series. As a USA Seven Series fan I want to see my Eagles win a tournament and what better time to start than the opening tournament of this 10 tournament Series. The top nations in this tournament are Fiji and the Rugby Championship nations of (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina). The USA never reached the championship game in the 2015-16 Series. Fiji played in the Championship were Fiji (5 times), South Africa (4), New Zealand 4), Australia (2) and Argentina, Kenya, Samoa, Scotland and England all played in for the title.

                The USA was grouped with South Africa, Scotland, USA and Uganda. The Eagles came out flat against the Scotts and lost 5-14. This was their pivot game to play in the Plate or Cup (Top knock-out) bracket. The next game they rebounded against the African Champion Uganda and won with a convincing 29-7 score line. The last game became all that important for both South Africa and USA. The USA lost a tight game 17-19 the eventual Dubai Champions South Africa.

                

         This loss put the talented Eagles in the lower Bowl bracket with the lowest seeded 8 teams. The USA pounded Russia into submission 40-0, and then had a battle against the African Core nation of Kenya 21-19. This victory set up a game against old Pacific Nation rival of Samoa. The Eagles beat Samoa 28-14. This victory allowed the Eagles to get 9^th place in the opening tournament. This bracket gave the USA 3 wins and momentum going into the next Seven series in South Africa in Seven Days (December 10th and 11th). 

Americas Pacific Challenge (USA Selects-the B team)

The USA Selects are like the U-20 USA hockey team or the U-20 national soccer team. The USA Juniors have been producing world class players the last few years. Auston Matthews was the #1 pick in the whole world. The year before it was Jack Eichel and Noah Hannifin who were picked 2nd and 3rd. The U-20 national soccer team  also has future stars in the making like Christian Pulisic.

The USA select are not on that caliber  yet. The Selects just entered into a "Junior" tournament called the World Rugby Americas Pacific Challenge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_World_Rugby_Americas_Pacific_Challenge

The USA selects did not got pasted by the better teams here. They lost badly to both Fiji and Uruguay. They were not even in the game. They did manage to beat lowly Canada. This was only good enough for 5th out of 6 placed. It not the Selects came in 5th it the fact the were not even competitive to keep up with the better countries.

The USA only has til 2019 to infuse some talent into their national team. We are all hoping the new ProRugby league will assist this effort.