GRR: Rugby Arizona
Arizona HS rugby is underway and Red Mountain is looking to be at the top of the heap once more.
The competition itself has undergone some shifts. Cienega high school has formed a new single-school team and has entered the Boys D1 along with Red Mountain, Tempe, and the Tucson Blackbirds.
The Arizona Bobcats HS select side program is back with another running of the Roadrunner 7s in Phoenix.
The tournament, thanks in large part to Jessica Brandt, was a big success last year and as happened in 2018 it will include teams from Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
The Arizona Bobcats HS select side program is running a preseason 7s tournament in Phoenix.
The tournament, which includes some teams from out of the state, is part of an ongoing effort to raise the level of play in Arizona.
Brophy Prep won the Arizona D2 state title last week, beating Scottsdale 49-19 to take the title, and it was the culmination of a very quick run to prominence for the new program.
Under Head Coach Steve Ciarfalia, Brophy Prep started rugby in January. Brophy Prep is a Jesuit Catholic school, and it made sense to Ciarfalia to follow the trend of Jesuit schools embracing rugby.
Red Mountain bounced back from a series of canceled games to defeat Ahwatukee this past weekend and finish the Rugby Arizona regular season undefeated for the 5th year in a row.
The Red Mountain team hadn't played a meaningful game since the Ra Puriri Invitational, and needed to win to clinch 1st against abig, physical Ahwatukee team.