Elite 7s
The SacAIR Islands stormed through the NAI 7s to win the Boys U18 Elite, and not that long ago they weren’t even sure they’d be competing.
“We didn’t really make the decision until about a month before the tournament,” said Head Coach Wayne Koi. “That was went we put in the request to take a U18 team.”
The NAI 7s ended up with a few surprises.
SacAIR Islanders pipped three-time champs Rebel Rugby Academy in the Boys U18 Elite final 10-7 on Saturday. That was perhaps the most notable result of the weekend.
The NAI 7s kicks off Friday with a few changes and some wrinkles.
Last year's event was marred by some significant trouble surrounding the U14 competitions, and it was a cose-run thing whether U14s would even return. As it turned out, the U14 brackets are invitation only now, with some closer vetting going on for those teams.
It was a hut, humid day at the National Youth 7s Championship in North Canton, Ohio Friday, with three competitive brackets in action.
As you can imagine, we here at Goff Rugby Report Headquarters had a lot of work to do getting interviews done and finding snacks at the Tropical 7s.
Occasionally we were able to watch some rugby games. OK, we kid, a bit, but if there were five of us we couldn't speak to every team ... and we'd need over a dozen people to see every game.