GRR on X  GRR on Facebook GRR in Instagram GRR Vimeo Library GRR on YouTube RuggaMatrix America Podcasts Support GRR on Patreon

Boys Nationals - Meaning and Opportunity

irish rugby tours

Boys Nationals - Meaning and Opportunity

Dan Bandoni photo.

The Boys HS Rugby National Championships is over and done and continues to show us why playing outside of your region is a good thing.

High school teams that routinely challenge themselves and are used to that challenge succeed at nationals, and the cycle continues. And here at Goff Rugby Report (now in partnership with FloRugby.com) we see teams tha think they've got it all figured out struggle when playing out-of-league.

Ah, you say, well what about Fort Hunt? They were new to nationals this year and made the final. True, but Fort Hunt was playing out-of-region even before they applied to nationals. The Warriors started on a path of testing themselves before they applied to nationals. And that's as it should be.

Look at the video interviews linked below, and you will see a theme; players like testing themselves against opponents outside of their regular leagues. And if the players like it ... isn't that what it's about? 

We will always get HS teams that are really, really good and don't play much out of their league. We will always have teams that play out-of-league and do it well, and opt for something other than the BHSRNC (Pacific Cup, for example). But if you want to play well on a regular basis at nationals, you have to formulate a schedule that helps prepare for the tournament. And if you want your players to get better, they need to face unfamiliar competition.

Boys HS Nationals Scores (Links to reports, game video)

Tier II

Quarterfinals

St. Thomas Aquinas 21-17 South Bay
Brownsburg 75-0 Winnetonka
Jesuit II 50-5 Greenville
Charlotte Catholic 53-17 Blue Valley

Consolation Semis
South Bay 53-5 Winnetonka
Greenville 17-29 Blue Valley

Semis
St. Thomas Aquinas 27-26 Brownsburg 
Jesuit II 10-24 Charlotte Catholic

7th/8th
Winnetonka 10-49 Greenville

5th/6th
Blue Valley 5-53 South Bay

3rd/4th
Brownsburg 44-10 Jesuit II

Final
Charlotte Catholic 14-14 St. Thomas Aquinas STA wins on kicks

Single-School

Quarterfinals

Jesuit 62-3 Fishers
Xavier 20-24 Herriman
​​​​​​​
Penn 33-12 Greenwich
St. Edward 5-25 Gonzaga

Consolation Semis
Fishers 12-32 Xavier
Greenwich 31-26 OT St. Edward

Semis
Jesuit 17-5 Herriman
​​​​​​​Gonzaga 12-5 Penn
(Game Reports)

7th/8th
Fishers 19-26 St. Edward

5th/6th
Greenwich 22-22 Xavier Greenwich wins on kicks

3rd/4th
Herriman 15-43 Penn

Final
Gonzaga 13-21 Jesuit

(Game Reports)


Club

Quarterfinals

 

Fort Hunt 40-15 Elsie Allen
Granite Bay 30-12 KC Jr Blues
Doylestown 29-15 United
West End 0-55 Royal Irish

Consolation Semis
Elsie Allen 17-18 KC Jr. Blues
United 37-12 West End

Semis
Fort Hunt 10-8 Granite Bay
Doylestown 12-20 Royal Irish
(Game Reports)

7th/8th
​​​​​​​Elsie Allen 38-34 West End

5th/6th
​​​​​​​Granite Bay 26-16 Doylestown

3rd/4th
United 34-17 KC Jr. Blues

Final
​​​​​​​Fort Hunt 16-18 Royal Irish

(Game Reports)

 

More on South Bay Here  

 

Links to Video Interviews (All free to access):

St Thomas Aquinas Players

St. Thomas Aquinas Coach (who gets ambushed with a bucket of ice)

Royal Irish Players

Fort Hunt's Erik Roach - We'll Get Them Next Year

Jesuit's Carlos Ramirez

Day II Wrapup

​​​​​​​Gonzaga Player After Semifinal Win

Royal Irish Players After Semifinal Win

Penn HS Moala and Yeoman

St. Thomas Aquinas on Dramatic Semifinal Win

Brownsburg Loses 27-26 - Player Recap

Nick Frederick of Royal Irish

Gonzaga Players Day 1

Doylestown's Mik Weir

Fort Hunt's San Dowling

Gabe Mahuinga of Herriman