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Life, Jesuit, United grab crowns

Life erased an 11-point halftime deficit to upend St. Mary's 16-14, adding USARFU's 2013 collegiate 15s title to its 2011 7s championship.

Separately, Jesuit and United nabbed high school and under-19 crowns with 21-16 and 24-10 wins over Gonzaga and Cathedral, respectively.

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the Gaels moved to a 14-3 edge behind converted tries from fullback Tim Maupin and center Mike Haley, but were shut down in the second stanza.

Running Eagle fullback Joe Cowley booted a penalty goal and then scored in the corner to narrow the gap to 14-11. Prop Drew Ohmann's 56th-minute try then gave Life its first lead while closing out the scoring in a match marred by second-half rainstorm.

In Elkhart, Indiana, a pair of tries from Devin Kelly helped Jesuit of Sacramento, California, capture a back-and-forth contest with Washington's Gonzaga. The win earned the Marauders their seventh US title.

Throttled by Indianapolis' Cathedral in the 2012 championship, Alpine, Utah's United this year turned the tables with a convincing four-try showing. The 2010 champs moved out to a 17-5 halftime edge en route to its second national crown.

Despite 2013's being the first year of independent organization, the single-school field was notably deep. In recent years Gonzaga, Charlotte, California's Dixon, and Utah's Herriman -- which dropped an 18-17 opening match to Jesuit -- have all made notable gains.

In the senior division 1 playoffs, unheralded New Orleans bested PAC and Minnesota's Metropolis, 57-8 and 15-10 respectively, to reach the final four.

Former Super League teams produced the remaining three qualifiers for the June 1-2 semifinals: Denver Barbarians, Life, and Old Puget Sound Beach. San Francisco Golden Gate, which withdrew its entrant from the division 1 playoffs, meets Life this weekend for the Elite Cup championship.

Some 30 national team hopefuls mustered in Glendale, Colorado, this past weekend in preparation for May 25's Pacific Nations Cup opener against Canada. The squad includes for recalls for prop Mike MacDonald, hooker Phil Thiel, flanker Peter Dahl, and utility back Troy Hall as well as the balance of America's overseas professionals. Twenty-four will travel to Edmonton for the first-round contest.

United States of America training squad
Forwards: Chris Biller (San Francisco Golden Gate), Todd Clever (NTT), Tom Coolican (New York AC), John Cullen (Univ. of Utah), Peter Dahl (Belmont Shore), Cam Dolan (Life), Brian Doyle (New York AC), Zach Fenoglio (Glendale), Eric Fry (London Scottish), Graham Harriman (Chicago Griffins), Mike MacDonald (Olympic Club), Liam Murphy (Boston), Shawn Pittman (Trinity College), John Quill (Dolphin), Louis Stanfill (Vicenza), Phil Thiel (Life), Nick Wallace (St. Mary's)
Backs: Shaun Davies (Glendale), Troy Hall (New York AC), Luke Hume (Old Blue), Seamus Kelly (Univ. of California), Toby L'Estrange (New York AC), Chad London (Glendale), Zach Pangelinan (OMBAC), James Paterson (Glendale), Chris Saint (Houston Athletic), Blaine Scully (undeclared), Robbie Shaw (Richmond), Adam Siddal (Old Blue), Andrew Suniula (Chicago Griffins)

Schools forge ahead with national championship

2012 champs Cathedral and Dixon are among 24 teams contending this weekend for American single-school and age-grade titles, underlining the continuing attraction of nationwide competition among youth teams.

Like the Varsity Cup, the two-track National Invitational Championship is independent of USARFU. In contrast to the collegiate knockout, which demonstrates unhappiness with Boulder's management, the school-age tournament occupies a space USARFU has abandoned.

USARFU holds state championships should be the pinnacle of schools competition, citing the National Federation of State High School Associations, which shuns national championships. But having declined to designate high schools as the organic unit of youth play, in the belief that the goal of maximizing participation trumps settling on a scholastic (or club) model, Boulder has left the door open.

Indeed, in 2007 under-19 teams were given impetus by Boulder's splitting what was once known as the high school championship into 'single school' and 'multi-school club' brackets. The latter have since allied with parochial schools, which are sometimes not part of state athletic bodies, and ambitious public school teams to keep the national tournament going.

The NIC brings a return to three games in three days. Organizers expect longer matches to reduce ties, settled by widely despised kicks at goal. As a safety precaution, youth competition limits the number of minutes an athlete may play in a single day. The Pacific Coast territory, among others, once employed the 3-in-3 format as a means of encompassing more contenders.

In yesterday's opening round, past champ Xavier of New York knocked off California's Dixon 40-29, while California's Jesuit edged Utah's Herriman 18-17. Indiana's Penn edged Charlotte 40-37, and Washington DC's Gonzaga handled South Carolina's Chapin 55-14.

In the under-19 bracket, the closest game was Danville's 17-15 win over San Diego, an intra-Californian affair. Indiana's Cathedral handled California's Marin 33-19, Utah's United best the Kansas City Blues 56-7, and Colorado Springs topped Ohio's Westerville 54-22.

Life-St. Mary's, the clash of styles featured in USARFU's college final, could be played in stormy conditions.

The Greensboro, North Carolina, forecast anticipates game-time temperature of 73 with 66 percent humidity and 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Even if down from today's predicted high of 85, weather for the 7pm kickoff will likely test the fitness and adaptability of both teams.

Atlanta's Life favors ball control, field position, and bend-don't-break defense; while the San Francisco Bay area's St. Mary's is more daring in attack and looks to exploit turnovers. In heavy weather, both approaches have their liabilities. Though ballhandling can be perilous, equally a few individualistic breaks can pierce a defensive stalemate.

The winner will succeed Brigham Young, last year's division 1 champ and this year's Varsity Cup winner.

The existence of two competitions has fostered debate over who's actually the best. USARFU's title chase is more comprehensive. But BYU and VC runnerup Cal are the game's gold standard, a view underlined by the Bears' besting of St. Mary's this season in a non-league match.

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USARFU the source of competing titles

The irony of controversy over BYU's 2013's national championship claim is the door was opened by the Varsity Cup's rival, USARFU.

In 2009, Boulder began steering top rugby-playing colleges toward self-governing conferences, out of America's traditional territorial unions, promoting the view that schools should manage themselves. But USARFU has not restructured its congress, intended to stand for dues-paying members, thereby creating a textbook instance of taxation without representation.

Though it has generated the most public debate, the Varsity Cup is only one of several fissures in American rugby since 2006.

For 30-odd years, national competitions have been USARFU's primary benefit for American teams and players, particularly after the 1992 introduction of mandatory CIPP (Club and Invidividual Participation Program) dues. The chance to play for a title is what you got for your money.

Regional and national officials saw to it that competitions were fair and transparent, if not money makers. Many US titles, such as the collegiate women's or division 2 championships, started out as unofficial events and were subsequently coopted by the union.

These days startup events no longer automatically aim to become part of USARFU, aware their objectives may run up against the union's international ambitions.

2007 saw the launch of the small college national championship, run by the National Small College Rugby Organization. USARFU showed little interest in the de facto division 3 title, but formally recognized the organization earlier this spring because NSCRO represents nearly 300 men's and women's teams, thought to comprise the majority of American schools, and its tournament has doubled in size over the past four seasons.

In 2010, the Collegiate Rugby Championship, a 7s tournament, debuted shortly after the abbreviated code was admitted to the 2016 Summer Games. American International Media, which also owns and operates the USA 7s, offered USARFU the opportunity to sanction and otherwise participate in the event; but Boulder declined in order to try its own hand at a 7s competition, which came online nearly 18 months later.

Though USARFU's fall tournament makes sense from a calendar perspective, with a national television contract and a Major League Soccer venue, the CRC is seen as more prestigious. Earlier this year, NSCRO validated the consensus view by tieing up with the CRC to launch a small college 7s championship.

Just this week, an organization devoted to women's division 1 and 2 schools called the American College Rugby Association surfaced, pledging to 'work with' -- not as part of -- USARFU 'in providing an alternative competition structure that aligns with the fall and spring college semesters'.

In rearranging high school and senior administration, USARFU hasn't provoked the same degree of independent activity. But it is clear enough championships are sacrosanct.

Last year, Boulder sought to dismantle the national high school championships, the thinking being that devolving administration to state rugby organizations (e.g., Rugby Virginia or Utah Youth Rugby) obviated the American title competition. The backlash, led by schools including New York's Xavier, home of current Eagle coach Mike Tolkin, forced Boulder to retreat. But the schools could easily have gone out on their own.

Club competition is in disarray because the slow-moving transition from territory to 'geographic' union has created many anomalies, and some senior teams are talking of creating their own leagues. But following the steady withdrawal of franchises from the now-defunct Super League, there is thought to be little appetite for an independent commerical venture.

Then again, most observers believe that the prime opportunities lie with the school segments, because the brands are better known and the demographics are superior. Put another way, the splintering of college rugby looks to be most indicative of the trend.

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Brigham Young 27 California 24 (halftime: BYU 16-10)

(Provo, Utah) Jon Linehan dropped an injury-time goal to lift Brigham Young to a sensational 27-24 Varsity Cup championship win over California and the Cougars' third title in five years.

The savvy play foiled a determined Bear rally, capped in the 75th minute by Seamus Kelly's short-handed try.

Buoyed by a near-capacity, raucous South Field crowd of 3,000, the Cougars bolted to a 16-3 lead after 25 minutes, but never quite took control. Play ranged from end to end, and both teams were at or over the line twice or more without scoring.

'I knew this game was going to come down to the wire,' BYU head coach David Smyth said afterward. 'You don’t win as many championships as they [Cal] have and not have the ability to battle like they did.'

The consensus national championship, though far from flawless, surpassed its billing and will probably go down as the American game of the year.

Freshman Linehan claimed MVP honors with the gamewinner, the opening try, and 4 of 5 goalkicking for 22 total points.

BYU counter-rucking and defensive scrummaging, especially in the 2d half, were equally important, tempering Cal's comeback. Beyond slow and unsettled possession, at least some of the visitors' backline errors were attributable to forward pressure.

The Bears might have snatched the lead before half, for example, when wing Josh Tucker inserted to split the midfield defense and carried down to BYU's try line. But in rushing second-phase possession wide, Cal moved it to a tight forward who was isolated and turned over.

'At the end of the day we weren't as accurate as we needed to be,' Cal headcoach Jack Clark said. 'I thought BYU was very good today and very deserving of the victory.'

After Linehan and junior fullback Jake Anderson traded long-range penalty misses, giving their legs an early test in high-altitude Provo, Linehan opened the scoring at 11 minutes, winning a 50-50 contest with Anderson to recollect a grub kick and race in.

Anderson replied with a three-pointer, set up by a knifing Tucker run, before Linehan hit a trio of mid-range penalty shots to provide BYU its 13-point edge. Tackle-breaking runs, notably by center Paul Lasike, and efficient recycling led by flanker Kyle Sumison, maybe the best player on the field before the All-American took a fourth-quarter yellow card, fueled the hosts' surge.

What little possession Cal had wasn't particularly useful. The visitors were rekindled by solo efforts from seniors Kelly and then Dan Barrett, the lock charging to within a few yards of the line, where BYU killed play. Flyhalf Russell Webb tapped quickly and baffled several defenders for a 33d-minute converted try, making the count 16-10.

Not long after Tucker's foray, Anderson might have narrowed the margin with a 26-yard, left-center penalty attempt. The kick appeared to sail almost directly over the left post, the assistant referees' flags stayed down, and the teams went to the break.

Another close call went the other way in the 53d minute, when the Bears sought to cash in on Kelly's blocking a clearance kick. After scrumhalf Niklas Boyer was stopped a few yards short, Cal moved the ball left; fumbled it; and then played it from an offside position, prompting referee Brian Zapp to stop play and award BYU a penalty -- too soon.

The offending Bear had fumbled forward, into the arms of busy wing Jordan Lowry, who raced some 85 yards unaware of the stoppage, before Tucker caught him at Cal's one yardline. Lasike came next, seizing the ball from the breakdown and plunging over the line, for nought.

Unfazed, the Cougars calmly proceeded directly from the restart to Linehan's fourth penalty goal, a 27-yarder at 56 minutes.

Then came a lung-busting fourth quarter that set these teams apart from the rest of collegiate, and indeed maybe all of American, rugby.

At 61 minutes Sumison was sent off for a late, no-wrap tackle. Cal kicked the ball into the corner and drove the ensuing lineout for flanker Jack O'Beirne to claim the honors. Anderson nailed a difficult sideline conversion to make the count 19-17.

Next, Lasike ignored a seemingly uncovered Lowry and was grassed, but BYU carried on to within sight of Cal's line, where Tucker's breaking up a pass was ruled a deliberate knock on. The senior was dismissed for 10 minutes, reducing the contest to 14 on 14 at 67 minutes.

Just as Sumison returned, with 8 minutes to go, BYU looked to settle matters, claiming a Cal lineout to send lock TJ Allred on a storming scoring run. But Linehan missed the conversion, which would have put the hosts ahead by two scores, and so the door remained open.

Replacement center Jesse Milne made Kelly's try, surging down to the 1 before offloading from the ground. Anderson's conversion, capping a 9-point afternoon on 4-of-6 goal kicking, set the stage for Linehan's heroics.

The denouement began with a pair of scrum pickups by eightman Ryan Roundy, who was initially held up over the line. When the senior All-American was stopped short a second time, the Cougars whisked the ball to their deeply positioned pivot, who lofted the ball over for a famous win.

'I wouldn't want to have to do it again,' Linehan observed of his gamewinner.

In addition to extending BYU's unbeaten record against collegiate teams at South Field, the win fairly confirms the Utah school as Cal's equal.

Since separating itself in the late 1980s from Pacific Coast rivals San Diego State and Long Beach State, only Army, Navy, and perhaps Penn State or Air Force have challenged Berkeley's hegemony. And only for a season or two, suggesting the particular importance of a generation of players.

Having won two of their past four meetings, with virtually the same player turnover as Cal, BYU looks to have reached a new level.

The US downed Argentina 22-7 to win the Scotland 7s plate bracket, thereby confirming its place as a 'core' member of the 2013-14 Sevens World Series.

'Having core team status is a big weight off of our shoulders', coach Alex Magleby said in a prepared statement.

The Matt Hawkins-led squad posted a 4-2 record, none more important than Saturday's 21-14 pool victory over France, which propelled the US into Sunday's championship brackets, even as Scotland dropped a 28-0 contest with New Zealand to fall into the consolation rounds. The two teams had entered the final tied for the 12th and final core slot, which assures invitation to every tournament on the 9-month, 9-stage world circuit.

The Eagles also defeated powerhouse Fiji, in the plate semifinal, for a second successive tournament. Nick Edwards topped all try scorers with eight, while Zach Test added four.

Brigham Young 27 California 24 (halftime: BYU 16-10)

Brigham Young
Tries: Jon Linehan, TJ Allred
Conversion: Jon Linehan
Penalties: Jon Linehan (4)
Drop goal: Jon Linehan

Will Taylor; Chris Wernli (Andrew Carver), Paul Lasike, Seki Kofe, Jordan Lowry; Jon Linehan, Luke Mocke; David Collins, Scott Gowdy, Ray Forrester, TJ Allred, Braden Bair (Dan Hubert), Kody Thompson, Kyle Sumsion, Ryan Roundy (captain)

California
Tries: Russell Webb, Jack O'Beirne, Seamus Kelly
Conversions: Jake Anderson (3)
Penalty: Jake Anderson

Jake Anderson; Josh Tucker, Seamus Kelly (captain), Jared Braun (Jesse Milne), Andrew Battaglia (Harry Adolphus); Russell Webb, Niklas Boyer; Tanner Mohr, Grant Hyjer, JP Hurrell, Dan Barrett, Brendan Daly, Jack O’Beirne (Carl Hendrickson), Alec Gletzer, Tiaan De Nysschen (Michael Bush)

Referee: Brian Zapp (West)
Attendance: 3,000 (estimate)

BYU-Cal match as good as it gets

Whether BYU and Cal are playing in the Varsity Cup, a USARFU competition, or a parking lot, it has become the most anticipated contest in American rugby.

To earn distinction, sporting events require competitors who push one another to new heights, beyond those which we have known, and also a familiar context, so we can appreciate the stakes of what we are watching.

Three times in the past seven years -- 2006, 2009, and 2011 -- the Bears and Cougars have produced championship matches of technical excellence and genuinely mainstream appeal. No other rivalry can make such a claim.

Those who contend the 2013 contest is not a 'true' national championship have a point, but it is academic.

It is the consensus championship because most rugby people would acknowledge the pair of unbeatens as the teams to beat. Neither is college football's crown fair and exhaustive; but it too is definitive.

Like all good rivalries, BYU-Cal has built up a history which transcends the players. Tomorrow marks the Bears' first visit to Provo in 30 years. The Cougars have never lost a collegiate match at (renovated) South Field.

Of the 30 starters who lined up in the Cal's 21-14 win at Rio Tinto 2 seasons ago, just 7 appeared in last week's semifinals, which underlines traditions of enduring quality. A remarkable six players in the 2006 final were subsequently US national teamers (Cal: Chris Biller, Eric Fry, Louis Stanfill; BYU: Jeff Hulliger, Salesi Sika, Alipate Tuilevuka).

Two of the current elite are BYU number eight and 7s Eagle Ryan Roundy, and Cal center and national team pool player Seamus Kelly. The interesting matchup may be in the halfbacks, where both teams field underclassmen, and Cal has not been settled. And who will be this year's unlikely hero?

Related: Who is Jason Lee and why is he important?

California 74 Navy 6 (halftime: Cal 34-6)

(Berkeley, California) Senior center Seamus Kelly scored four tries as Cal overcame an erratic first quarter to rout Navy 74-6 Saturday in a Varsity Cup semifinal.

Fullback Harry Adolphus, trading places with flyhalf Jake Anderson amid five backline changes from last week's quarterfinal against Notre Dame, added a try and 15 points on 5 of 5 goalkicking.

The same day in Provo, Utah, unheralded Central Washington pushed BYU to 19-15 at half before falling off pace in a 53-20 defeat.

By result, college rugby's heavyweights will clash this weekend at the Cougars' South Field for the Varsity Cup championship and the consensus national title. The two teams last met at Rio Tinto Stadium in 2011, the Bears claiming a tense 21-14 victory.

Flankers Alec Gletzer and Jack O'Beirne each added a pair of scores in Cal's 12-try afternoon. Front rowers Tanner Mohr and Grant Hyjer were also prominent in openfield support that overwhelmed the Midshipmen defense.

The Middies initially looked to have opportunities out wide, and had they taken advantage of early Bear miscues, the game might have much more competitive. Instead Cal efficiently converted its scoring chances and, smoothing the jitters, gained complete control by the second quarter.

The afternoon began with a memorable display of sportsmanship. Led on the field by an active-duty admiral, the Middies were spontaneously honored by Cal's partisans with a sustained standing ovation.

Thirty-two national team hopefuls have been training in Atlanta, in an effort to make up for the canceled exhibition match against South Africa's Golden Lions. The assembly was apparently mounted so hastily that USARFU's web page and media director could not provide basic player info: positions, height and weight, date of birth, club info, and so on.

Matt Hawkins will captain the 7s Eagles at the pivotal Scotland tournament, where the USA must finish ahead of the hosts in order to retain its position as a 'core' member of the 2013-14 7s World Series.

California 74 Navy 6 (halftime: Cal 34-6)

California
Tries: Seamus Kelly (4), Alec Gletzer (2), Jack O'Beirne (2), Harry Adolphus, Brendan Daly, Danny Barrett, Nick Boyer
Conversions: Harry Adolphus (5), Jake Anderson (2)

Harry Adolphus; Josh Tucker, Seamus Kelly (captain), Jesse Milene, Andrew Battaglia; Jake Anderson (Andre Coquillard), Nick Boyer (Lucas Dunne); Tanner Mohr, Grant Hyjer (Michael Bush, Scott Walsh), JP Hurrell (Lyall Davenport), Danny Barrett (Tyler Fach), Brendan Daly (Carl Hendrickson), Jack O'Beirne, Alec Gletzer, Tiaan DeNysschen

Navy
Penalty goals: Jack McAuliffe (2)

Ron Helms (Brandon Willis), Justin Lamascus, Nick Hancock (captain, Chris Hood), Dakota Raymond, Cyrus Wilson; Jack McAuliffe, Ricky Neel-Feller; Darien Green, Matthew Kelley (Joe DiPietro), Alston Harper (Samuel Ramirez), Daniel Gallien, John Thornton, Andrew Stellato, Spencer Wilson, Christopher Rixey (Jacoby Getty)

Referee: Aruna Ranaweera (Pacific Coast)
Attendance: 2,000 (estimated)

United States to Scotland 7s
Andrew Durutalo (undeclared), Nick Edwards (undeclared), Jack Halalilo (East Palo Alto), Matt Hawkins (Old Aztecs), Colin Hawley (Olympic Club), Luke Hume (Old Blue), Carlin Isles (Gentlemen of Aspen), Folau Niua (undeclared), Blaine Scully (undeclared), Shalom Suniula (Belmont Shore), Zach Test (undeclared), Brett Thompson (Tempe)

Long road to trio of college championships

Three separate organizations are staging collegiate playoffs this weekend, a confusing state of affairs.

College rugby continues to grow organically, facilities are improving, and it is easier than ever to promote and follow the action. Yet the Internet age is paradoxically becoming an era of unfulfilled promise and even division.

At the time current students were born, phone and fax were the best media for team management, while marketing required specialist skills. But the road to the national title and representative honors was uniform, and the American union sought to be comprehensive.

Regular-season affairs have since become the responsibilities of local conferences, which have no representation on USARFU's congress. Earlier this spring, Boulder went further in acknowledging the National Small College Rugby Organization manages the postseason for 200-plus schools.

At the top end, the union's Division 1A championship and the Varsity Cup, which recently announced Texas has joined its postseason chase, are mutually exclusive. If the same cannot be said the USARFU's college 7s title and the Collegiate Rugby Championship, the spirit is similar. Then there is the matter of All-American selections, which now depend on invitations to a June tryout weekend.

However email, YouTube, and the like have changed media, it has not become any cheaper to conduct nationwide competition. That the teams which have previously won nearly all of USARFU's top honors have gone it alone suggests the depths of their unhappiness.

USARFU's undeniable achievement has been to more efficiently tax the student playing base, which has gained for almost two decades. But the monies are generally spent elsewhere, and the disputed benefits of mandatory health insurance have not surmounted issues ranging from controversial eligibility changes to inability to distribute income from matches attended by 10,000 and more.

NSCRO's semifinals and finals headline this weekend's slate. New England College meets Duke and St John's (Minnesota) goes against Denver at Glendale's Infinity Park.

Elsewhere, the Varsity Cup's final four sees Navy visit Cal and Central Washington heading to Brigham Young. Like the NSCRO games, both matches are scheduled for webcast. The two hosts are expected to advance, which would set up a heavyweight tilt next weekend at Provo's South Field.

In USARFU's Division 1A quarterfinals, St. Mary's meets Colorado, Colorado State plays Cal Poly, Arkansas State tackles Kutztown, and Life goes against Army. Another 16 teams begin the hunt for USARFU's second division crown.

Though the Gaels, Red Wolves, and Running Eagles might argue their merits, Boulder's contenders come off second best in head-to-head comparison with the Varsity Cup, while at least two conference champs declined to participate. Finishing up in late May, beyond the college season's traditional close, also does not help its profile.

While that may be particularly harsh for the 1A trio, USARFU's policies have been several years in the making and the costs are universally borne.

Small colleges get 7s national title

Small colleges are joining the 7s craze, pursuing a national crown in conjunction with the Collegiate Rugby Championship.

Following regional qualifiers to be staged in April and May, eight teams will contend for what amounts to the division 3 title at the June 7-8 1-2 event in Philadelphia, the National Small College Rugby Organization said in a prepared statement.

The tie-up juxtaposes an organization that meticulously runs 15s playoffs for schools with generally less than 5,000 4,500 *male* students, with a designed-for-TV seven-a-side competition that favors large universities because of their commercial attributes.

The arrangement is also notable in that the 7-year-old, can-do NSCRO, which claims to encompass 40 percent of America's rugby-playing colleges, is choosing a time of year opposite the fall 7s season which USARFU has sought install.

In a preliminary survey, some 80 of NSCRO's 211 men's teams expressed interest in the 7s competition, NSCRO said. Many are from its heartland on the Eastern seaboard and the Midwest; have traditionally played 15s in autumn; and apparently see no place for themselves in the fall tournaments which lead to Boulder's division 1 competition in November.

NSCRO's 15s championships, also held in springtime, have grown quickly since their 2008 debut. If successful, the 7s initiative would underline that the common observation that what most American rugby players mostly want is to compete for national championships.

All three of the 7s tournaments require participants to pay their own way. The CRC and NSCRO events additionally require teams to purchase (or commit to selling) event tickets. NSCRO is exploring ways to offset team costs, according to people familiar with the matter.

The events also contrast in that the primary Philadelphia venue is a Major League Soccer facility, rather than an out-of-the-way college campus; NSCRO pool and consolation matches will be outside PPL Stadium.

As the CRC is nationally broadcast, on NBC, leading division 1 teams have sought invitations.

Rocco Mauer will make his 2012-13 7s World Series debut in Las Vegas, replacing the injured Maka Unufe. The US, which fell to 14th place in the standings after a winless Wellington tournament, have drawn Australia, Samoa, and Spain in Las Vegas.

United States to United States 7s
Andrew Durutalo, Nick Edwards, Jack Halalilo, Matt Hawkins (captain), Colin Hawley, Luke Hume, Carlin Isles (all USARFU), Rocco Mauer (Chicago Lions), Folau Niua, Blaine Scully, Shalom Suniula, Zach Test (all USARFU)

Ohio, Indiana elites eye bigger games

Defending national champ Cathedral leads a field of 8 elite Indiana and Ohio teams set to meet in a showcase tournament March 9 at Ohio State.

The cross-state matches are as intended as more than tough non-league games. Organizers are collating roster info and inviting local college coaches to recruit, while also looking to promote the sport to local media outlets.

Though very few universities offer scholarships, rugby can sometimes be an admissions edge, according to coaches and guidance counselors. And while top college programs have figured out that summer camps help them identify attractive candidates, high school teams have done less to fill the pipeline from their end.

The one-day, single-venue competition comprises 16 matches, with both first teams and reserve grades playing twice. Indianapolis' Cathedral, the 2012 USARFU multi-school titlist, has drawn 2011 Ohio state champ Westerville and St. Ignatius, with some 140 players the Buckeye state's largest school team.

2012 state champ Saint Edward and football power and 2010 champion Archbishop Moeller also line up from the Ohio side, while the Hoosiers counter with 5-time national finalist Brownsburg, recent division 1 qualifier Southeastern, and 2012 USARFU 'single school' runnerup Penn.

Three of the four Ohio entrants are now varsity sports. The state is home to 48 boys teams, most clustered around Cleveland and Cincinnati. There are some 1,400 registered high school-age players, according to Rugby Ohio.

On the other side of the border, Indiana Youth Indiana counts 75 teams (boys and girls) with approximately 1,600 registered players, about two-thirds of whom are high school boys.

Indiana

• Brownsburg HS (Brownsburg single school): 5-time national qualifier, 9 consecutive Midwest appearances, 4-time state finalist
• Cathedral (Indianapolis multi school): 2012 national multi-school champion, multiple national appearances, 3-time Midwest multi-school champion, multiple Indiana division 1 championships
• Penn HS ((Mishawaka single school): 2012 national single-school runnerup, 12-time national qualifier in last 14 seasons, 5 Midwest titles in last 8 years, multiple Indiana division 1 championships
• Southeastern (Indianapolis multi school): 2008 Indiana division 2 state champ, now in division 1

Ohio

• Archbishop Moeller HS (Cincinnati varsity team): 2010 Ohio state champion
• Saint Edward HS (Lakewood varsity team): 2012 Midwest champion and 2012 Ohio state champion
• Saint Ignatius HS (Cleveland varsity team): 7-time Ohio state semifinalist
• Westerville (Columbus multi school): 9-time Midwest multischool champion, 14-time Ohio state champion, most recently 2011

Senior teams standout on BYU schedule

Brigham Young unveiled a schedule listing four national-caliber senior teams, an aggressive pursuit in a year that also sees the Cougars join a conference of Utah and Idaho schools and spearhead the launch of a high-profile postseason tournament.

Taken together, the initiatives suggest the defending university champ reckons the college landscape inadequate for its objective of being a top sport on the 27,000-student Provo, Utah, campus, home to some 21 NCAA teams.

'This year's schedule really breaks new ground for us in terms of difficulty', head coach David Smyth said in a prepared statement.

Old Puget Sound Beach, the Denver Barbarians, New York Athletic Club, and Las Vegas Blackjacks predominate a seven-week stretch in February and March. The contest against 2012 Super League champ NYAC, at the students' South Field, reprises the 'challenge match' format pitting college and senior titlists.

But the other three games indicate the Cougars can't find enough competitive college opponents. During its two-year stint in USARFU's variously named first division, Brigham Young consistently scored 50 plus during conference matches and lost just 1 contest, the 2011 final.

Having captured its second USARFU championship last May, the next month BYU exited Boulder's nationwide league, which has been shrinking as teams switch to regional, NCAA-style conferences. Subsequently, the Cougars emerged at the head of an eight-team knockout competition called the Varsity Cup, which final will be contested at Salt Lake City's Rio Tinto stadium, according to the team's release.

Historically much stronger than its in-state rivals, BYU simultaneously has entered its second XV in the newly formed Utah Collegiate Rugby Conference, a move matched by archrival Utah, which the Cougars play home and away.

Presently snowbound, BYU opens its season this weekend in Nevada against a Utah 2d XV and Idaho State.

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