Utah Youth Rugby has been active throughout the Covid-19 era, playing summer and fall 7s, and now nearly through its 15s regular season. The girls’ high school teams were not immune to pandemic-depleted rosters, but some great rugby evolved this spring nonetheless. The state semifinals await this weekend, but a series of single-digit decisions makes predictions for a favorite moot.
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Carson Mellott (United) and Christine Yee (Brighton) shared the girls’ high school commissioner role this spring.
“Some clubs were struggling this year, so while this is our 15s season, we’ve also done 7s, 10s, 15s just to play,” Mellott explained. “Kearns and South Davis, for example, have low numbers, so they’ll get together with a third team, and they’ll play 10s on game day. At first, we were just shuffling with the 10s piece, but it’s worked out really well.”
Mellott explained that Brighton and Wasatch were separate during the fall 7s season, but when Wasatch coach Patrick Whalen accepted a position out of state, Yee took on his players. The joint team plays 15s along with the Majestics, Provo, United and Mountain Ridge. The latter has roots in the former Herriman program, which disappeared three years ago, per Mellott.
“The rugby’s been good,” Mellott said. “Without the incentive of the NIT [in Salt Lake City], I don’t know that there’s as much focus in terms of goals. But there are still girls who are very focused on doing well because they’ve seen the educational pathways that rugby provides.”
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Examples include graduating seniors Kiani Akina (United) and Malia Isaacs (Wasatch), who are heading to Harvard University, the reigning NIRA (NCAA) DI national champion. United is also sending Anise Tuia to NIRA’s American International College in the fall. Provo’s Jenalei Fifita and Joy Baguinon will join Lindenwood University, which is playing Life University in the DI Elite national championship this Saturday.
“We’re looking O.K. We’re in a rebuilding stage,” Mellott said of United, the traditional powerhouse. “As we were looking at our [April 17] game, we counted 13 freshmen and sophomores on our roster. So we’re definitely younger this year, but it’s a great thing because it says we still have the pipeline into the program. The last couple of years we had a very large presence of seniors, so the next wave is just starting.”
Teuila Nawahine moved from Boise, Idaho, and has been a welcome addition. She has strong game understanding and was part of the Utah Cannibals team that finished second at the Tropical 7s in Orlando. Freshman MarLee Neuifi is part of that next influential wave. She, too, went to Florida, and has very quickly become an impact player for the reigning state champion.
But the Majestics, Provo and Brighton/Wasatch are all drawing interest this season. Provo had looked good all fall 7s season and carried that momentum into an undefeated spring. The Majestics are also threat. Daisey Fuentes, Marley Parkinson, Sayler Russell and Krystal Tupou boosted the Cannibals in Orlando, and the Majestics have also defeated United, 36-31, in mid-April. Brighton/Wasatch lost a nail biter to Provo early in the spring and edged Majestics 34-27 last weekend.
The field is narrowing. Tomorrow’s game between the Majestics and Provo marks the final regular-season contest of the 15s season, and the outcome will determine the May 1 semifinal match-ups. [4.28 Update: Provo forfeited its match against the Majestics. Thus, the semifinals are: #1 Majestics vs. #4 Brighton/Wasatch and #2 Provo vs. #3 United.]
“I like the idea that our girls have to be challenged and not think it’s walk in the park. It’s good for rugby overall,” Mellott said.
The state championship will be held on May 8, and then what was supposed to be the Girls’ High School Club National Tournament in Salt Lake City will now be the Pink 7s on May 15. As for the summer, there’s been talk about focusing on the middle school girls and creating some critical mass there, an asset that has been even more stressed during the past year and a half.