GRR: No name
The big question about NIRA, at least for us at GRR World Headquarters, is whether there could have been a different setup of semifinalists.
Yes, Dartmouth was always going to be #1. And yes, Harvard was pretty ensconced at 2nd.
So the question was, could Sacred Heart or Quinnipiac or even Queens have broke into that top four.
It's an all-Iowa final for the Heart of America after last weekend's semifinals, and we get a rematch of Week #1 in the the final day of competition.
The big question regarding our latest NCR D1 rankings is ... should Queens return to #1?
We dropped Queens because they lost to Penn State, but then the Royals beat Life. Should that result drop Life out of #1 in D1A? Or both? Or neither?
In the end, we have to recognize that Rugby East is superbly difficult to win and superbly difficult to run through undefeated.
Atlantis is running out two 15s teams at the Old North State Invitational in Greensboro, NC this coming weekend.
This is another step for Atlantis in that they have started fielding 15s teams this year. Atlantis ran out a boys team in the Buckeye Invitational this past spring.
Queens beating Life 29-26 over the weekend shook up the Rugby East and top-level collegiate rugby in general.
Was this a one-off? Not necessarily. Remember that Life had that close call with Mount St. Mary's in late September, and of course the close win over Navy. Queens has had two close wins, as well, and in fact about a quarter of the Rugby East games end up being within a try.