2016 A Look Back - April
2016 A Look Back - April
April 2016 kicked off with the meat of the college and HS seasons.
The women's Varsity 7s series started - Quinnipiac Edges AIC in 1st Women's Varsity 7s - as the concept of a varsity-only women's college season started to take stronger hold.
Meanwhile, UC Davis, Virginia to DI Women Final Davis and UVA won their DI semis, and set up what would be a classic and dramatic final in May. The women also had their DI Elite playoffs, and BYU and Penn State booked spots in the final. BYU, Penn State to Women's DI Elite Final
In men's college rugby, Saint Mary's rebounded from a difficult March with a tour of New Zealand that put the Gaels in championship form. St. Mary's NZ Trip Energizes Team for Final Stretch. Meanwhile, the Varsity Cup started, and we saw another big upset in the early going as Dartmouth Shocks Penn State.
The college playoffs were in full swing, and the big issue about them is that there remains a "them." So we had DIA, Varsity Cup, and DIAA. Of interest in part was that Utah played in both the DIA and Varsity Cup. Utah Battles Through for Win. It was a bold choice that tested that program, but ultimately worked out because the Utes were eliminated early enough from one to hang on in the other.
More Varsity Cup stuff:
BYU Rolls, Cal Survives in Varsity Cup Semis
In DIA, it was Saint Mary's and Life all the way.
Arizona Over LSU in DIA Playoffs
Life Shuts Out Davenport in Snow
DIA Latest - Air Force, Lindenwood, Life
DIA Semis - The Challenge Awaits
DIA Semis - Life and Saint Mary's, Again
In DIAA, there were plenty of surprises. At Goff Rugby Report AIC and Bowling Green seemed to be favorites from the East, but the Notre Dame College train was still rolling. In the West, UC Davis seemed to be the one.
JMU Over Harvard in DIAA Playoffs
AIC Scoring Spree Downs Delaware
Davis Holds Off Arkansas in DIAA Semi
Notre Dame College Beats AIC - Makes DIAA Final
The USA U20s went to the World Rugby Trophy in Zimbabwe, and were up and down. While Hanco Germishuys started to show himself as a top prospect, the team as a whole had some tough moments with close games.
Namibia Beats USA U20s on Final Play
In Boys HS rugby, Fort Hunt and West End battled on as teams from Virginia started to show their quality. West End would get the short end of the stick - Fort Hunt Shocks West End in Barnburner - but later proved their worth at nationals once their players got healthy.
In Georgia, we got a look at an important issue as the state final was halted early because of lightning. It wasn't the only such final that spring, but this one was notable in that the game wasn't completed because of the storm's length. It turned out to be something of a debate, and a lesson to all that you need to have rules in place for any eventuality.
Lightning Strikes as Georgia Plays Finals
Elsewhere in HS rugby, South Greenville started to emerge in South Carolina - South Greenville Wins Key SC Clash. The Kansas City Jr. Blues, Kahuku, Royal Irish, and Herriman also showed themselves to be among the best.
Royal Irish, Penn in Dramatic Clash
Northern California continued to be a comeptitive league - Down to Wire in NorCal Premier Semis - Danville Takes NorCal Premier - but even the next division down produced talent -
Peninsula Green Wins NorCal DI.
But perhaps the most compelling competition was for which team was the best among the single-schools. Gonzaga was the defending national champ, but several teams secured a #1 ranking at some point during the season. St. Edward Beat Gonzaga, which was big news, and Gonzaga beat Xavier to show they were back.
Nate Ebner suited up for the Men's USA 7s team for the first time. Ebner Replaces Injured Isles in USA Team for Hong Kong 7s. His presence continued to provide the program itself with more exposure.
The Women's USA 7s team entered its first tournament after Coach Richie Walker replaced Julie McCoy. They did pretty well - Eagle Women Win Plate in Atlanta - and there was reason to believe they could be on an upward trajectory.
Rugby fans found out the finalists for the top college player awards - the finalists having come through a voting process open to all college rugby teams. Scholz Award Finalists Named - Sorensen Finalists Named. Then a panel of experts chose the winners from there. Dylan Audsley of Saint Mary's received the Scholz Award, and Hope Rogers received the Sorensen Award. They would be officially presented with those awards at a gala event in June in Seattle.
USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville, who was to move on as CEO of USAR to become CEO of Rugby International Marketing, instead announced he was leaving the USA altogether to take a job with the RFU in England. Melville Leaving USA End of June. This after Melville had negotiated a deal between USA Rugby and the RFU that gave the RFU a share of Rugby International Marketing profits at virtually no risk to the RFU.
Meanwhile, RIM announced the launch of The Rugby Channel online TV operation. Rugby Channel Dot TV Launched
