7's on NBC Saturday and Sunday

Catholic Memorial and Divine Savior Holy Angels high schools are headed to Philadelphia this weekend to compete in the High School championship connected to the collegiate 7's championships.

The college tournament is broadcast on NBC both Saturday and Sunday, sometime around 3-5pm.  Watch and you may catch some glimpses of the Wisconsin girls who are participating.

Wisconsin compete in the college finals along with rivals Penn St and last year's champ, Dartmouth.

The high school girls bracket also looks stacked as Fallbrook travels to the East coast for the event, as well as the New York Athletic Club's u-19 girls team and Hempfield. 

Youth Rugby Outdraws Collegiate Finals

USA Rugby runs an online free access webstreaming site for its championship events.  Run under the Ustream moniker, matches are often broadcast live and then archived for later viewing at anytime.  While it is sometimes unwieldy and difficult to find matches, this year's high school girls championship final rounds for the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th place matches can be viewed at this link for USTREAM-USA RUGBY.  It's on the third page of games, since they've added a lot more games since then.

What's interesting to note though, is the viewing numbers.  The Division I Collegiate final between Penn St and Stanford University drew 581 views.  The high school championship drew 695 viewers when we last checked.    If you combined viewing numbers for the high school 1st and 3rd place matches compared to the D1 and D2 collegiate women's finals, the numbers are very similar, with the collegiate outdrawing by 53 views, ths far.  

What does that tell you?  While this is only anecdotal evidence, and we probably shouldn't read too much into it, it is clear that college rugby isn't (yet) at the level of other major college athletics in terms of fans, funding, and fanfare.   Should American rugby be investing even more in the youth game or collegiate as a result?   I'm sure we'd love to invest in both significantly.   

This left our staff at WGR talking about how many high school sports outdraw college athletics? These numbers should send a message to our collegiate and youth commitees.   Let's capitalize on this.  If you want to improve exposure, let's improve the national and regional tournaments, in addition to state championships. 

Marquette University Coaching Clinic

We've been asked to post again the info for the coaching certification clinic at Marquette University June 23rd and June 24th. 

Just go directly to this link at USA Rugby.   You'll need to be a registered member of USA Rugby to register on this link.  If you still need to do that, go to usarugby.org and enter the membership section.

3rd Annual Mauston Border Battle

The Kettle Moraine Knightmares again hosted a Border Battle between MN and WI teams.  This is the 3^rd year of the tournament that meets at a neutral site in Mauston, WI.  Tournament regulars Armstrong and Hopkins from MN came to play against the usual WI teams, KM and Oak Creek as well as new participants, Brookfield and Wauwatosa.  It was an extremely windy day, and teams struggled going into the wind.  This led to teams trying to take the most advantage out of their half with the wind.  Kicking for points, and punting down field to keep the play in the opposition’s half were common.  Teams that were able to keep possession going into the wind were the ones that had success. 

Armstrong came away from the day leading all teams at 3-0.  After a tight match against KM, where they managed to get by Wisconsin's #3 team, 17-12, they proceeded able to build on their strengths as one of the top MN teams.  They finished with wins against Oak Creek and Brookfield.  Hopkins as well got past a close Oak Creek match to build to a 2-0 day with a final win against Wauwatosa.  In a make-up game, Brookfield defeated Wauwatosa.   

MN is just heading into their playoffs for their state tournament.  The Border Battle is a nice change of pace in a long spring season and a chance to see competition from a neighboring state.  It’s been clear from the tournaments this spring that the success of OH, WI and MN programs comes from the depth and competitiveness of the individual leagues each faces on a regular basis. 

KM	12	Armstrong	17
Oak Creek	17	Hopkins	25
Tosa	12	Brookfield	22
Oak Creek	0	Armstrong	55
Tosa	5	Hopkins	29
Brookfield	0	Armstrong	41

One Publication's Final Rankings

     The latest Rugby Magazine high school girls rankings have been released.  While always debatable, especially when so many of the ranked teams have never played each other, it is interesting to see how those in other parts of the country view programs across the country.

     What isn’t debatable is that it’s been a great year for WGR participants and rugby in-general as good girls teams are sprouting up all over the country, especially in hotbeds across the Midwest (check out Indiana and Ohio) and areas like Oregon and California. 

     Wisconsin, with two divisions of play, two competitive championship finals in the fall, and five teams competing regionally this spring, had a lot of girls playing high level rugby.  They were fortunate to experience the team travel that is such a part of the rugby experience.  Improvements were seen in Menomonee Falls and Oak Creek battling for the D2 title down to the final minute; they will probably move up to D1 next year.  Vernon and DSHA meeting in the Midwest second division final was awesome.  Kettle Moraine finishing third in the Midwest capped another good year for them.  Plus, DSHA and CMHS finishing 3^rd and 4^th respectively at Nationals was special. 

     According to the latest ranking by one source, Rugby Magazine, DSHA is #7, CMHS #9, and Lakewood #4 in the USA.    Those girls have a lot to be proud of.  Those three Midwest teams finished 2,3,4 at Nationals.   All three Midwest teams were dropped in the rankings compared to their finish at Nationals.  After playing three top teams in two days at Nationals and making the final, Lakewood can probably find a little extra motivation in being dropped.

     Another thing that stands out is that they also decided to move Kent ahead of DSHA, up to #6.  Kent has never beaten DSHA and finished 5^th in the tournament.  Perhaps they considered that Kent’s only loss came to Lakewood in the semis, 34-26.  Lakewood was winning that match 34-12 well into the second half.  That’s the hard part about comparing only final score lines.  A lot of factors go into scores, including substitutions when you have a big semifinal coming up later the same day.  Now, both teams have been among the best in the country for a decade or more and their rankings could be right; it’s tough to predict.  Still, that’s a hard to take if you finish higher than another team consistently.   They’ll both be wondering how their teams would’ve matched up.  Some good motivation for next year, for sure. 

    It’s also interesting that Summit’s tie with Fallbrook in November was touted by some as a national championship match, instead of a pre-season warm-up game for Fallbrook.  Summitt finished #2  without playing any other teams ranked in the top twenty or ever having defeated DSHA.  Summitt was at the height of their fall season when this match happened, coming off a great state championship run where they were hardly scored on.  Fallbrook played them at the very beginning of a season where they were admittedly rebuilding.  It would’ve been interested to see how the teams matched up after Fallbrook had a season of coaching under their belt, especially as it is clear Summitt is a good program and worthy of high recognition.

     This also has us considering the weight, or lack of weight given to an event like the National Championship Invitational.  Competing teams face three of the most challenging games possible in two days.  Some states have a challenging championship and perhaps semifinals.  They don’t involve this many tough games in this short a time.  It takes a toll by the 2^nd and then 3^rd games.  It’s tough to compare the level of depth and ability to make it through an event with 8 of the top teams in the country compared to one match on one day.  Now, maybe some really good, worthy teams aren’t able to or don’t choose to compete, but that will always be the case for a variety of reasons.  That's also the case in Indiana where one of their top teams is unable to compete on Sundays and therefore cannot attend Midwest.  Nonetheless, there is no other more challenging tournament for girls rugby than this.  Now, in NCAA basketball and state high ‘power rankings’, if you don’t play top teams, you don’t move up in the rankings.  Our two cents observation.  Hopefully next year, the tournament can be expanded to 16 teams and two divisions, to allow more teams the opportunity to experience this! 

Here’s their top twenty.  What’s yours?  Let the debate begin:

 Send comments and feedback to wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com

1 Fallbrook (Cal)

2 Summit High School (CO)

3 Fullerton (Cal)

4 Lakewood (OH)

5 Mother Lode (Cal)

6 Kent (WA)

7 Divine Savior Holy Angels High School (WI)

8 Lady Barbarians (ORE)

9 Catholic Memorial High School (WI)

10 Bishop O’Dowd (Cal)

11 Warriors (Utah)

12 Downingtown(Pa)

13 West Carroll (MD)

14 Lowland(Utah)

15 Seigel (Tenn)

16 Armstrong (Minn)

17 St Joseph’s Academy (OH)

18 Hopkins (Minn)

19 Canby (Ore)

20 Amazons (Cal)

Conference Meeting June 6th

The Wisconsin High School Girls Rugby conference will hold its bi-annual conference coaches meeting on Wednesday, June 6th at 7pm.  All teams are required to send a representative.  Conference restructuring will surely be on the agenda.

Any new teams that may form or may wish to join the conference must also send a representative.  Please contact WGR at wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com for more information.

In other news, Nicolet High School defeated Marquette High School in the boys state championship game Saturday in Cottage Grove.  MUHS defeated Little Chute in the semifinals and Nicolet knocked off Pulaski to advance earlier in the day.  Congrats to all the teams involved.

Wisconsin Boys State Championships

This weekend the Wisconsin Boys High School Rugby Championships take place in Cottage, Grove, Wisconsin near Madison.  Maps, and full info can be found HERE.

The Madison Rugby Complex is located at:  4064 Vilas Rd, Cottage Grove, WI 53527

Here's the full match schedule:

9:00 AM	Plate Bracket Semi's Pitch 1 - Muskego vs. Fond Du Lac (D1) Pitch 2 - Lafollette vs. Bayport (D1) Pitch 3 - Kenosha vs. Appleton (D2) Pitch 4 - Grafton vs. Oconto (D2)
10:00 AM	** Coaches Meeting - Cup Bracket teams **
10:30 AM	Cup Bracket Semi's Pitch 1 - Nicolet vs. Pulaski (D1) Pitch 2 - Marquette vs. Little Chute (D1) Pitch 3 - Whitefish Bay vs. Oshkosh (D2) Pitch 4 - Elkhorn vs. Valley Crusaders (D2)
12:00 PM	Plate Bracket Consolation Pitch 1 - Plate Bracket Consolation (D1) Pitch 2 - Plate Bracket Consolation (D2) Pitch 3 - Madison West vs. Marquette B Exhibition Pitch 4 - Muskego B vs. Middleton Exhibition
1:30 PM	Cup Bracket Consolation Pitch 1 - UW-Milwaukee vs. UW-Madison 7s Exhibition Pitch 2 - Cup Bracket Consolation (D1) Pitch 3 - Cup Bracket Consolation (D2) Pitch 4 - Lafollette/Elkhorn B vs. Tournament Exiles Exhibition
3:00 PM	D-2 State Championship & Plate Bracket Finals Pitch 1 - Championship Final (D2) Pitch 2 - Plate Bracket Final (D1) Pitch 3 - Plate Bracket Final (D2) Pitch 4 - Exhibition
4:30 PM	D-1 State Championship Pitch 1 - Championship Final (D1) Pitch 2 - Exhibition

National Championship

Some notes and stories from a great tournament:

-There were no easy matches in this year's national tournament.  This year was noteable in the number of close, competitive matches played.  The 2-7 game ended 14-0.  The 4-5 game was 10-0.  The 3-6 game was 34-26.  One would imagine that at a championship of this caliber, there would be great, competitve games and this year did not disappoint.  No team gained an advantage from playing an easy first round game.  The committee did a nice job getting eight strong programs and fairly balancing brackets.   They had a tougher job this year trying to predict and seed teams who hadn't played head-to-head and without a second tier to move teams up and down..  The bottom line though is that participants learn more about themselves in close games; what it takes to be successful and how important decision-making can be, and for that, the event and the committee's work can be deemed a success.

-The Lakewood upset of DSHA was historic.  DSHA has a strong team, that is clear.  Lakewood, after a decade of losses to DSHA, finally broke that streak in impressive fashion though, shutting them out 19-0.  With impressive size and athleticism in their midfield, not to mention youth, Lakewood looked like a championship team and should continue to be the strong contender for several years to come.  This just adds another chapter in their great rivalry.

-DSHA scored 24 points in three matches.  That's unheard of and a little misleading if you just look at numbers.  At the same time, they only allowed 27 points against Downingtown, Lakewood, and CMHS.  That's not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of playoff rugby.  Watch any World Cup playoff rugby and you'll see the same thing, a lot of low scores.  CMHS scored 33 and allowed 38 in three matches against West Carroll, Fallbrook, and DS.  The defenses at the highest level make scoring tough and you tend to see more field goals.  With 15 strong athletes on the field with these well-coached teams, it's harder and harder to keep possession, much less finish.  How then to explain the final result, just like in the collegiate d2 finals?  Matchups of strengths and weaknesses could be one factor, another is that teams expend so much energy and incur injuries trying to get to the final, that sometimes it's a pyrrhic victory in the process of getting there.

-Having unique teams and different styles come together from across the country makes the event special.  The Amazons, with their Polynesian heritage add something special to every event they participate in.  The Wisconsin players we talked to who had a chance to talk with a few of their players were so impressed with their character ... half their team is in middle school ... and yet they stuck to their own unique style of running rugby and challenged everyone they played.   Another great moment was the team handshake after the CMHS and Fallbrook game.  After a brief handshake, Fallbrook called CMH back to go through the tunnel again, amidst applause, and the genuine respect showed by both teams after a great, clean game was evident as the girls smiled.  "That's the best game we've played in in two years," commented one of the Fallbrook girls.  
     Downingtown was another team that impressed with their tough-nosed eastern brand of rugby and strong traveling parent support.  After an undefeated tour of Ireland this spring jumpstarted their season, one of their parents commented to our staff reporter that this year's experiences pushed their daughter to do things she never thought she could.  I bet that's a story alot of parents can indentify with as their daughters challenged themselves physically and mentally this year.

-The Kent -Lakewood match was billed as worthy of a final and it didn't disappoint.  It would've been fascinating to see how a Kent v DSHA or a Kent v CMH game could've gone too. Kent has a lot to be proud of.  As does West Carroll, who are universally respected for playing good, physical rugby.  It was hard watching the tears on the faces of their seniors after they lost a close opening round game.

-CMHS, by far the smallest team competing, did remarkably well in its first-ever appearance at the National Tournament.  While several other programs like Kent draw from multiple high schools, CMHS draws from it's student body of 690 students, half of which are girls, and that's it.  They are a unique team and a tight bunch. They managed to move up one spot from their incoming ranking.
DSHA is also special for being a single-school team, competing against programs that draw from multiple schools.  With an enrollment around 658 students, the all-girls school does a remarkable job year-in-and year-out of being among the best teams in the country.
-The championship match was viewed by some on the sidelines as a victory of skill and technique over brawn.  That's not entirely fair to Lakewood, as they showed so much skill to be a championsihp finalist team for the third time.  They had to defeat Kent and DS to ge tthere, don't forget.  Nonetheless, Fallbrook's speed, stamina, and skill, not just passing, but in contact and ballcarrying are so impressive, no matter who they play.  They never seem to throw a bad pass or knock the ball on.  It didn't matter that Lakewood had a size advantage in some positions.   Fallbrook used their skill to play running rugby and it was tough to stop.  Couple that with their pressure defense and they look tough to beat.

3rd Place FInal

In another classic game, DSHA defeated Catholic Memorial 10-8 in the 3rd Place Final at the Girls High School National Championships at Stanford University. 

In the final, Fallbrook won their second-consecutive final 59-12.

National Championship

So many good stories coming out o fhtis year's high school girls national championship.  A full write-up will appear in a few days.

But, the big news is that DSHA fell to Lakewood.    Lakewood had never beaten DSHA before and they did it impressively coming through with a 19-0 victory.  Lakewood got on a nice run, upending the #3 and #2 seeds to make the final.  More on this later ....

In the other semifinal, Catholic Memorial made a statement early, against #1 Fallbrook, scoring a try two minutes into the match.  In a GREAT back and forth match, Fallbrook went into the half leading 17-15.   The second half Fallbrook pulled away a little late to win 28-15.  A full write-up later!

So, Sunday's championship features Fallbrook and the #6 seed, Lakewood. 

For third place, DSHA and Catholic Memorial will repeat their great rivalry and rematch their Midwest Championship match.   Great to see three of the top four teams i will be from the midwest this year.

On another note, the East Coast teams both played impressively with Donwingtown giving DSHA a run for their money in the first match and the West Carroll v CMHS game a fantastic 10-0 battle.  West Carroll defeated the Amazons and will battle for 5th place against Kent.  

A lot of close, competitive matches this year!!!

SCORES:
Quarterfinals
Fallbrook 34  Amazons 0
Catholic Memorial 10  West Carroll 0

DSHA 14  Downingtown 0
Kent 26  Lakewood 34

Semfinals:
Catholic Memorial 15  Fallbrook 28
DSHA 0  Lakewood 19

Consolation
West Carrol 27  Amazons 15 (unconfirmed score)
Kent 17  Downingtown 12 (unconfirmed score)

Championship
Lakewood v Fallbrook
3rd Place
Catholic Memorial v DSHA
5th
West Carrol v Kent
7th
Downingtown v Amazons

National Championship Broadcast

The USA Rugby Emirates Airlines High School Girls National Championship will be broadcast on USA Rugby's streaming website:

 USA Rugby, Ustream.TV

Only Sunday's matches will be broadcast.  Check back here for scores and updates, as well as USA Rugby.

On Saturday DSHA plays Downingtown at 11am and Catholic Memorial High School plays West Carroll at 10am.

Saturday USA Rugby will focus on webcasting the Collegiate Women's Finals for Division I and II.  Minnessota's Winona St is playing Shippensburg University Friday at 12pm at Stanford's Steuber Rugby Stadium in the Division II semifinal.  Several Wisconsin Girls Rugby Alumni play for Winona St ......

Coaching Clinic at Marquette University

Marquette University will host a USA Rugby Coaching Certification clinic on June 23rd and 24th.  It will include two tracks, Introducing Rugby Skills and Developing Rugby Skills (the level ii clinic).

USA's coaching programs were revamped a few years ago with much improvement and Marquette has hosted these clinics about every other year.   They've proven to be worthwhile.  With the explosion in youth and high school teams in the area, certification as a coach is a neccesity.  Primarily, it's best for the kids that our coaches are up to date on techniques, laws, and coaching methodology.

National Championship

Two Wisconsin teams are again participating in this year's Emirates Airlines USA Rugby Girls High School National Championship.  The brackets have been released to WGR's media coordinator:

1 Fallbrook (CA)
2 DSHA (WI)
3 Kent (WA)
4 West Carroll (MD)
5 CMHS (WI)
6 Lakewood (OH
7 Downingtown (PA)
8 Amazons (CA)

     There are some great rivalry games in the first round, as Fallbrook and the Amazons meet for the third year in a row at the national event.  The last two years it was for the final.  Maybe it's a sign of the growing depth in girls rugby that this is the 1 v 8 matchup.  Fallbrook appears to be on a roll again this year and just won 38-10 in their state playoff semifinals.  As the #1 seed, they will look to use their speed and fitness to defend their title.

     Kent and Lakewood, two programs with long-standing success on the field square off again.  That's another matchup worthy of a final too.  Lakewood has been a little off-the-radar in their buildup this spring, but should definately be a dangerous opponent.  They won the Ohio Classic Tournament handily last weekend and always bring incredible fitness to their matches.  Kent is always a contender; they already have a win over Fallbrook under their belt.  One veteran coach said, after seeing them at the Fullerton Youth Invitational, that "they look like a championship team." 

     Downingtown hasn't been scored on in their spring buildup.  Along with Catholic Memorial, they appear to be the two wildcards in this year's tournament.  West Carroll is one of the good stories of what this tournament does for participants and their experience level.... they bring a record of three consecutive appearances ... and they've clawed their way up a position in the rankings each of those years.  Not easy to do when starting as a lower seed.

     DSHA has earned the  #2 seed and are a favorite to advance out of the other bracket.  What's made this year especially remarkable for them is that their B-side won the Midwest Second Division tournament.  Their young side did it in impressive fashion winning 45-0, 74-5, and 27-5 in the final.  They are especially deep and play with great passion.