35 colleges are heading to New Jersey Sunday
Below are five events and/or games occurring this weekend that deserve special attention. Click here for a full list of fixtures and scores, and check out the women-only rugby calendar here. Want to submit your event? E-mail editor@therugbybreakdown.com with date, name, location and divisions served.
BABY BIRDS TOUR
The Midwest High School Thunderbirds have returned to Florida for its winter tour and will play Palm Beach and USA South. Head coach Garrett Fisher selected 35 players for the trip (see full roster) to keep the most consistent regional all-star 15s program active outside of the Regional Cup Tournament season.
SCRFU DAY
Conceptually this is a great idea – bringing all three divisions of play together for a festival of games – and we hope SoCal turns the outing into an annual event. It’s a great showpiece for the variety of senior club rugby that’s waiting for those high school and college-aged players. Check out the lineup. Unfortunately the rain has sent the 10 teams to different pitches to ensure these league games actually occur.
Not part of SCRFU Day, the SoCal high school 7s and 15s championships are meant to occur as well but there is some uncertainty about field fitness and ability to host. More to come.
BATTLE OF THE UNDEFEATEDS
Grand Canyon and UC Santa Barbara top the DI Pacific Desert table and will face off in Arizona; and John Brown and Kansas State renew their young but real rivalry in DII Mid-America. All four teams feature in their respective spring rankings, so these results will have an immediate impact.
SEVENS AQ
The Hawkeye Classic in Iowa has been awarded Automatic Qualifier status, so the winner of its Division I competition will earn a berth to the USA Rugby DI College 7s National Championship in May. Read more for a full list of competitors, ranging from senior club, DI Elite, to NSCRO.
COLLEGE FAIR & RUGBY COMBINE
For a sixth year, Rugby New Jersey is connecting high schoolers who aspire to play rugby in college with the coaches themselves. On Sunday, 35 colleges are heading to Denville, N.J., to check in on the girls’ and boys’ combines and evaluate the player pool for potential recruits. Learn more.