Photos: Owen Powers
2017 marked the first time that the Utah Cannibals girls’ team traveled to Chester, Pa., for the High School Rugby Challenge (HSRC), a satellite tournament to the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7s. The trip was well worth it, as the state all-star team went 6-0, ending with a 22-5 title win over New Jersey Blaze.
RELATED: Women’s Rugby Results: June 2-4 • HSRC Homepage • Utah Youth Rugby
Ten teams played across three days of competition. Participants ranged from single-school standouts like 15s champion Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) of Wisconsin and Colorado state champion Summit High School; to former HSRC titleholders Doylestown and NJ Blaze, a 7s-only club; and local sides from the active Rugby Pennsylvania. The Cannibals is Utah’s state all-star program and although it was able to pull from four teams in its previous showing (LVI 7s), graduation limited availability for the early-June fixture. Ten players from 15s high school club champion United filled the Cannibals’ ranks, while Emily Trunnel and London Green represented their home club, Wasatch, well.
On Friday, teams were divided into two pools of five for four games apiece, and then teams were reseeded for the knockouts. The Cannibals made a statement in its opener, defeating DSHA by 30 points, and followed with three more shutouts. The effort earned the team a bye through Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Summit also earned a bye through the quarterfinal round, going undefeated in the other pool. The game of the day was arguably the first one of the tournament, as the Tigers held off the NJ Blaze 12-10 before posting three more shutouts in pool play. The Blaze, however, would have a chance for redemption two days later. SEE FULL SCORES HERE.
“Maybe more so in 15s, but you’re still able to do it in 7s – when you travel, you see different styles. It’s a good experience, and it’s good for girls’ rugby as a whole,” Utah Cannibals coach Matt Kanenwisher said.
“I think the competition was more a measure of how much 7s you get to play in a year,” the coach continued. “We just finished 15s – they’re just high school-aged kids and making that shift back to a different game is difficult. Fitness became a struggle, too, and you could see it in the fifth, sixth games, other teams, too.”
Although the girls’ Cannibals had never competed at the HSRC, the leaders had experience playing in high-stakes games. Their resumes included the 2016 United World Games, 2016 European U18 7s Championship, Girls’ High School All-American fixtures, not to mention the recent high school national tournament. Leading the way was field captain Kat Stowers, Maili Schaap, Charity Tenney and Addison Horsley (lead photo), all of whom put in standout performances over the weekend.
In the two quarterfinals, DSHA redeemed its pool play loss to Doylestown with a one-try win on Saturday, earning a berth to the Sunday semifinals. And NJ Blaze blanked Downingtown 37-0 for a trip to the final four. NJ Blaze was clinical in its 37-5 semifinal win over Summit, which was battling through illness, and the Cannibals shut out DSHA 31-0 for the final’s berth.
“It was strange that they didn’t cross brackets [in the semifinals] but in the end the two strongest teams played in the final,” Kanenwisher reflected. “Between the jitters and coming out of the tunnel and playing in the stadium, that rattled them in the beginning. Blaze came out hard and worked hard, and it took a minute to get our bearing.”
The NJ Blaze, familiar with the HSRC final, went to work quickly and scored first. The Cannibals settled down to match that first-half try, and then regrouped at halftime. The second half was played in the Blaze’s end, and the team spread the ball for tries from Tenney, Gabriella Bezzant and Schaap. Stowers’ conversion gave the Cannibals a 22-5 win and trophy.
Coach Kanenwisher pointed to Tenney as tournament MVP. Watch for the graduating senior next season, as she transitions to collegiate rugby. She could very well be back in Chester, Pa., this time next year playing in the Women’s CRC 7s.
“In Vegas there was a higher level of competition with the international teams there, but playing in the stadium is really neat,” Kanenwisher said. “You get in there and the field feels twice as big, and the ball bounces differently because you’re on turf. That feel was a first for most of them.
“It was worthwhile as a state select side – to give them that opportunity to play at a higher level. For girls’ high school 7s, there just aren’t that many tournaments,” the coach added. “Here, there are a lot of people, a lot of rugby’s happening, there are a lot of challenges. But on balance, we’re returning with a lot of good things.”
The girls’ Cannibals program will compete in three 7s tournaments this summer – in Colorado, California and Idaho – but the focus will be developmental.
“The goal is to get as many girls experience in the system, so when we select the state team in the fall, we’ll know a little more about them than what we see in one tryout,” Kanenwisher said.
The program has even more momentum from this HSRC title, which heads back west after several years on the east coast.
UTAH CANNIBALS – 2017 HSRC
Lewanda Aspinall – United
Gabriella Bezzant – United
Penina Faamausili – United
Nafanua Fitisemanu – United
London Green – Wasatch
Addison Horsley – United
Cheyenne Nielson – United
Charity Tenney – United
Falelua Stowers – United
Kat Stowers – United
Maili Schaap – United
Emily Trunnel – Wasatch
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