Ryan,

Game is being played at Providence HS.

NC YOUTH RUGBY FEST

February 16, 2012

By Matthew Henry of North Carolina Youth Rugby Union (NCYRU)

The North Carolina Youth Rugby Union (NCYRU) is set to kick off the 2012 annual RUGBY festival and tournament March 10th and 11th at Elon Park in Charlotte, NC.

There will be over 42 teams comprising a cross section of high school men and women teams as well as a contingent of middle school boys. Over 1000 players will converge in the Ballantyne area of south Charlotte to contend for the related championships of each age bracket. The North Carolina Spring Ruggerfest is one of the largest youth league rugby tournaments in the United States. Teams attend from a dozen east coast states as well as teams from Canada and The Caribbean.

All spectators are welcome, but good sportsmanship and thunderous cheering for the participants is required!

New to the 2012 Ruggerfest will be our College Showcase game between The University of Notre Dame and rugby powerhouse Life University out of Marietta, Georgia. This will be a regular season game played at Providence High School March 10, 2012 at 7pm. This game will help determine season rankings and post season tournament brackets.

There will be rugby related giveaways and raffles at the game. Including signed USA Eagle sportswear.

For further information and sponsorship opportunities please
contact us at: ncyouthrugby@gmail.com

England has Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Ireland has Fields of Athenry

What should American rugby's song be?

American Girl?
American Pie?

Absolutely not Born in the USA.

I know we're not supposed to think much of rugby league's attempts to ride the coattails of real rugby, but I must share this disturbing new development.
RL operatives in Philadelphia have co-opted the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (Local LAU) into scheduling two union matches (club and highschool) as a curtain-raiser for league's "international" match against Ireland. They even had the EPRU senior official to write an op-ed on the wearerugby website about how league and union should co-exist happily together.


http://www.epru.org/news/donnybrook-cup-2012

I must admit I am somewhat torn now. I would like to see a highschool rugby game in a stadium, but I do not want to support RL.
I might come watch the highschool game and leave right before "Tomahawks" kick off.

5am start in San Fran, you should see the rain! Great day yesterday discussing pro rugby, today Olympic training center

England has Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Ireland has Fields of Athenry

What should American rugby's song be?

American Girl?
American Pie?

Absolutely not Born in the USA.

Rumors flying that BYU will drop out of CP as Cal did and play Cal this year at Rio Cinto and split the money and share none with USA Rugby. Also according to Gainline comments section other top tier teams are leaving as well. This makes the Cal stuff makes sense. Say hello to conferences with no colleges paying dues to USA Rugby. Maybe this will force new leadership.

that will be good for the game and i hope it finally wakes up usa rugby.

7s coach should not be a tough decision. I may be wrong but the press release makes it sound like Caravelli was pressured to resign. Magleby is the obvious choice to be his successor. If he's not ready to take over until after Dartmouth's season you make one of the current support staff like Williams the interim.

College stuff - I would think college teams would still pay dues. There are HS teams who don't compete for a national championship who still pay dues to USAR. Plus the only teams forming conferences are really BCS conference teams. Teams like St Marys, Arky St, Davenport and Life I imagine will still want to play under the USAR umbrella.

I think there 7s list will be short. If not Mags then Serv maybe even Pye. I think for College you let the really big names go and do their own thing and take what you have and develop that. Once the none big names see something stable and growing, they will join in as they will want part of the action.

1. The only problem with conferences is the level of competition. If a Pac 12 forms I hope it's only 6 or 7 teams in the beginning (Cal, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona St and UCLA with Stanford as possibly a 7th) and let the other teams build up.

2. Also, target those teams for inclusion in their athletic departments

3. push to be part of programming in the new Pac 12 Network.

4. Also try to get these teams playing in stadiums

5. if possible on local TV.

You are right with regards to the ACC but the Pac 12 is actively pressuring schools to add sports so that they can have content for their network.

This is a unique opportunity for rugby at Pac 12 schools to state their case for why rugby (men's and women's) should be one of those sports.

I've been over the talking points on here many times before but you are once again ignoring the influx of money to these schools combined with the need for content for the P12 Network.

And to suggest hockey compared to rugby for any school in the P12 not named Colorado is laughable.

It's not like they're telling them to add Ultimate Frisbee or rugby or other associated club sports. I can show up with all the Pac-12 club handball teams on why we should be put on the network and it's an Olympic sport with marginal interest in the U.S. but it can grow but that doesn't mean anyone wants to watch handball or it would get picked up. Rugby is a club sport for a reason. And by definition, club sports are almost always inferior to varsity sports.

Great. They should. There's a long way between proposal and acceptance.

why would they pickup a sport with no history of people watching it in this country when they are a network that wants to draw ratings so they could increase subscriber fees down the road? please answer this question

Well we're even, because I think men's rugby becoming a varsity sport en masse across the Pac-12 is laughable. You gamble online for a living. I'm willing to bet you on it if you honestly believe that. It's easy money for me and I'm about to buy a house and could use your money to help on the down payment.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights on future CU Sports offerings. Your passion for the sport of Rugby is very evident and it is that kind of fervor that we look for when considering any additional sport. As you can imagine there are a variety of factors that must be considered when adding sports and which one. Some of the following are considerations we evaluate and these are not in any particular order:

1. Male vs. Female (gender equity related issues with Title IX) We strive for proportionality
2. Conference Alignment if not in the Pac-12 and the opportunity for a conference sponsored championship
3. Playing competition and recruiting competition for players (which universities already offer it, scheduling matches)
4. Facilities in place or needed
5. Support systems needed for Student Athlete success, such as sports medicine, academic support, strength & conditioning, compliance,
6. Recruiting base, local, state, regional
7. High School participation (are the high school programs growing, steady or in decline)
8. Collegiate participation (club sports on campus already and interest in varsity status)
9. Interest from Alumni, do we have a history or tradition
10. Interest in supporting the sport from a variety of sources, community, current donors, potential donors, alumni and associations such as the one you mentioned.
11. Budgetary impact and our sustainability for sponsoring the sport long term (scholarships, equipment, travel, recruiting, coaching, facilities, etc.)
12. Fall Sport vs. Spring Sport - Spreading the Athletic Department resources and staff over equal time periods

These factors are all considered and as we evaluate our athletic department offerings for sponsored sports we will keep all options on the table and consider the merits of a variety of sports. We don't foresee adding any sports in the near future as we will be assimilating the women's lacrosse sport for some time to come. It sounds like many of the factors we consider when adding sports match up well with Rugby. Several of these factors I was not aware of and we appreciate you bringing them to our attention. Many thanks for sharing your thoughts and passion for Rugby.

Go Buffs!

from Rugbymag, and no, the numbers don't add up, call the remainder "slush"

Magleby Named Coach of USA Men's Sevens
(click title for link to USAR release)

Author:Jarrod Beckstrom





For Immediate Release
March 1, 2012

Magleby to take helm of USA Men’s Sevens team through May

BOULDER, Colo. – Alexander Magleby has been named head coach of the USA Men’s Sevens team following the resignation of Al Caravelli yesterday (Wednesday February 29). The incoming coach will lead the team through the last four stops of the 2011-2012 HSBC Sevens World Series.

An open application process for the head coach position will follow the conclusion of the Series in May.

Magleby will take the reins immediately to prepare the USA for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament that kicks off on Friday March 23.

“Alex is well-prepared to lead the Eagles and I think he’ll bring a fresh perspective on where the team stands now and where it needs to be,” said Nigel Melville, USA Rugby CEO and President of Rugby Operations.

Melville coached the Men’s Collegiate All-Americans on a New Zealand Tour in 2008 and had Magleby as his forwards coach. “Alex is very positive and clear about what he expects from his players on and off the field,” Melville said.

A seasoned leader, Magleby has been head coach of the Men’s Collegiate All-Americans – the elite university-level developmental program in the USA – since 2009. He led the All-Americans to a 2-1 record over the New Zealand Universities in a three-match series last year. Magleby also coached the first-ever Men’s Collegiate All-Americans Sevens team in 2011, a program designed to help prepare athletes for the senior men’s team and the Olympics.

A Dartmouth College alumnus, he has coached his alma mater and the Ivy League powerhouse since 2001. Dartmouth’s sevens team won the College Rugby Championship Invitational last summer, defeating Army in a thrilling final.

The incoming coach also has an impressive playing career. He was on the USA Men’s Sevens team from 2000-2005 and captained the Eagles in the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens. He also has four caps in fifteens.

With the perspective of a former international, the new coach’s priorities are clear and they begin with an approach to the game that transcends the ‘Xs and Os’ of a game plan.

“It starts with a responsibility to our rugby community – we will play rugby that will make our countrymen proud. Full stop. We’ll focus on our country’s doctrines of hard work, creativity, entrepreneurialism, grit, energy, and a will to succeed no matter the odds,” Magleby said.

Magleby will take over a USA team that has struggled so far this season, going 7-19, tallying a 26% winning percentage and sliding to 13th on the World Series circuit. The new coach will look to making the rest of the season count.

“We’ll train to adapt with conditions, good and bad, and continue to grow with each experience. We will be fervently committed to improving and growing as a group,” Magleby said.

As coach of the All-Americans, Magleby has worked with and played a role in selecting and developing several current Eagles including Blaine Scully, Colin Hawley, Peter Tiberio, Rocco Mauer, and Zack Test.

On the talent he has on the USA team, Magleby was clear about where the team stands.

“In some areas we’ll hit the reset button, but for the most part it’s a team with a lot of promise. The platform is there to build something quite special,” Magleby said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of it. It’s an awesome responsibility we carry forward.”

Further Information:
Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | USA Rugby | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org

Where do you think sports come from to be elevated to varsity status? Thin air? CU just added women's lacrosse. Do you think this was a club sport at CU or nothing previously?



Indeed.



Because they flat out need content for their network. There isn't much history for people watching women lax, either. I'd be willing to bet the CRC 7s outdraw the women's lax finals for ratings.



Where did I say en masse? I think at some specific schools it makes sense to approach the administration.

Let me see if I have any pictures from the CU-CSU game in Glendale where they charged admission. Of course, part of the draw of being a varsity sport is being featured on the athletic site and the marketing associated with that. Much more awareness, and thus higher attendance, because of that.

By the way, here is an email response I got from one of the associate ADs at CU:

from Rugbymag, and no, the numbers don't add up, call the remainder "slush"

Can we please take a leaf from John O'Neill's book and cut funding to the women? They're going to stay right where they're at regardless. No one threatening, no one to threaten.

Anybody know the attendence in Utah today ?

What does Cal-Utah mean to non-rugby people?

It was a big time fuck up not to sign on for the Wasatch Cup being there full time.

Cal beats Utah 23-22 on a penalty at the death. Can't imagine Cal didn't field close to a full strength side given their focus on P12 rugby and last week's result. Definitely a rebuilding year for Cal and gives more credence to the D1-A champ being the true champ.

D1-A scores

Colorado 48, Colorado St 20
Life 72, Texas A&M 3
Oklahoma 29, Notre Dame 22
St Mary's 76, UCLA 19
Air Force 44, Arizona 21
BYU 54, Arizona St 13
Navy 64, Rutgers 3