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Boys Nationals Set for Thursday

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Boys Nationals Set for Thursday

Both Penn and Royal Irish compete in the national invitational this week. Tamara Tidey photo.

The Boys National HS Championships kick off Thursday afternoon at the Rugby Athletic Center in Charlotte, NC.

Defending HS Club team Royal Irish out of Indianapolis is probably the favorite, but they could still find themselves with some stiff competition. United out of Utah is hitting its stride at just the right time, while Granite Bay has performed well against some very tough competition in Northern California. Orlando and West Shore might well produce some surprises this week.

In the Single-School bracket, Gonzaga is the defending champion and should be favored here, but with all apologies to all the other outstanding teams, the tournament should come down to an almighty clash with Jesuit of Sacramento.The opening round includes a couple of intriguing matchups - perhaps Herriman v Greenwich is the most interesting. But word from Goff Rugby Report is that Jesuit and Gonzaga are the top two.

The Tier II bracket is always an interesting one, and this year La Salette or Sierra Foothills might well win it all. The problem for them is, they play each other in the first round. North Bay out of Northern California could be poised to surprise.

Here are the brackets and kickoff times. All games are 60 minutes (30-minute halves) which allows for a ten-minute overtime. Teams do not have to name their subs bench before the game, thus allowing coaches to find playing time for a variety of players. Consolation games can go to open subs if both coaches agree.

 

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