One might not expect a former USA Rugby National Team scrum coach to be an effusive supporter of 7s, but that’s precisely what Bill LeClerc is. The Army West Point coach, alongside Steve Lewis and Lara Vivolo, has readied the Black Knights for the USA Rugby College 7s National Championship, and the team heads to the DI Elite bracket with a full season of 7s behind it.
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“Everyone loves to play 7s. The tight five and forwards, during a 15s game, they might touch the ball 3-4 times. But in 7s, everyone has to catch-pass, read space and be more confident in their skills,” LeClerc said. “The game’s purer in that sense. Your tackling, defense, contact – that all has to be spot-on. The important roles of the sweeper and restarts; the quick reaction to penalties and quick lineouts – you’ve got to be aware of those. And the fitness just makes it a totally different game.
“The more opportunities to play rugby, the better. It definitely helps them, and it’s a fun, short, hard-working season,” LeClerc said. “Sevens is fun. Fifteens is a grind. And that’s both fine.”
For Army, the spring started with a trip to the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center [CVEATC], and during three days of spring break, players interacted with Eagles, USA 7s coach Richie Walker and USA Rugby Women’s HP manager Emilie Bydwell. The outing not only jump-started the season but made the “next level” tangible.
“People talk about [the CVEATC], but to be there and experience that place and train with some of the residents, it was fantastic,” LeClerc said. “The players have such an inquisitive nature and they’re never satisfied [just asking questions]. You have to try and talk about things they’ve never seen or can’t relate to. But when they experience it firsthand and can picture themselves there, they’ll work for it.”
Players who were injured during the fall – like Bayleigh Gable, Zye Crittington and Lily Ruland – returned to the pitch and all but one starter (who is graduating and eying the infantry) are back. Army won four of the five 7s tournaments in which it competed and produced a 23-1 record.
“We’re lucky in the east. We have a designated 15s season in the fall and then we can focus on just 7s in the spring,” LeClerc said. “It makes sense. It’s an organized 15s fall that runs its course, and there’s an end to it. In the spring, 7s runs its course, and there’s an end to it. We have to sort out a few things – what we call ‘our’ 7s and the qualifiers – but we’ll sit with a few teams and create more structure so there’s a clear idea.”
“Our” refers to the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA). There’s no NIRA 7s league, per se, but there was an unofficial circuit that saw teamsTeams like AIC, Army, Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard – those making a concerted push for USA Rugby nationals – were at the core, and most NIRA members competed in at least one 7s tournament alongside their 15s league mates. LeClerc talked about introducing standings and points en route to a final tournament, similar to how a league would run.
Army is heading to Colorado along with NIRA teams Central Washington, Dartmouth and Harvard, and they’ll face DI Elite teams Life, Lindenwood and Penn State, and reigning DII 7s national champion Davenport, now a DI program and current fall 15s champion. Vivolo and Lewis will escort the team to Glendale, while LeClerc heads to the girls’ high school National Invitational Tournament near Nashville, Tenn., the same weekend. The fact that Army does compete at 7s nationals helps with recruitment, and the Black Knights have some stellar high school graduates heading to New York in fall 2018. More to come.
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