The Papeete Rugby Club is making a concerted effort to revivify its 7s tournament (est. 2017) and attract an international men’s and women’s audience, and the U.S. is playing a role in that process. Eagle Rock Rugby (Los Angeles) is the reigning Papeete 7s men’s champion and returns to Tahiti to not only defend its title, but also cap its domestic 7s season while enjoying the French Polynesian paradise.
NOTE: The Rugby Breakdown is attending the Papeete [pronounced: Pah-pay-ay-tay] 7s as part of a sponsored media trip. Be sure to follow @therugbybreakdown on Instagram for a “rugby fun in the sun” week, starting Oct. 6.
“They want to build this tournament and try to elevate the quality of it and make it a more attractive destination for rugby clubs,” said Eagle Rock Director of Rugby Geoff Kischuk. “And we’re happy and ecstatic if we can help make that possible.”
Eagle Rock formed in 1937, making it the oldest, continuous men’s rugby club in Southern California. Kischuk became part of that legacy in 1980, leaving the East Coast and Met NY Union for Los Angeles. He spent 18 years as an active player, and for the majority of that time, Eagle Rock competed as a Division 1 club. Kischuk stepped away in 1998 to focus on family and work, but was called back to duty approximately 15 years later.
“By that time [2014], Eagle Rock had fallen to a D4 club and was in danger of folding,” Kischuk said. “I came back to reclaim the history and quality of the club. … So getting the club from D4 to D1 might have seemed like a fool’s errand, but we’ve done it.”
A key part of the solution was finding the right coach, and Welshman Earl Palmer was that person. He had played and coached high level in Wales and moved to LA to pursue his acting dreams.
“He was a really quality and a really important partner for the first few years,” Kischuk said. “He really helped establish a culture and things like that to get the club going.”
After eight years of hard work and advancing through the divisions, Eagle Rock was promoted into D1 in 2022.
“It was very satisfying,” Kischuk said. “But I’m always thinking about the next step, which is becoming a top club in the country. We’ve been making good progress but I want to establish Eagle Rock as a top brand like Belmont Shore or Chicago Lions. So a few years ago, we started a really competitive 7s program again and have been entering qualifiers. We fell just short of making 7s nationals this year, but I think we have a good chance of making it next year.”
In 2020, the HSBC 7s Series stop in the U.S. moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and Eagle Rock participated in the LA Invitational that runs alongside the main event.
“That’s where we played Papeete,” Kischuk said. “We beat them, but didn’t think any of it other than we’re always happy to win.”
So when Papeete started building out its 7s tournament in 2022, it reached out to Eagle Rock, as it enjoyed its match against the Californians.
“It was not easy,” said Kischuk, who indicated there was a second U.S. team, a select side, from the East Coast also in attendance. “We sent fairly thin numbers, but good players, not really knowing the way things would go. But we won the tournament.”
Papeete didn’t hold a tournament in 2023 while the men’s Rugby World Cup took place in France, but reached out to the reigning champs for the 2024 event. Eagle Rock didn’t hesitate to commit.
“Tahiti 7s is a great way to end the 7s year,” Kischuk said of the Oct. 11-12 tournament. “The qualifiers take a lot of work from May-July, or August if you make it to nationals. So Tahiti at the end is a great reward for the guys who worked really hard trying to qualify for nationals.”
Eagle Rock is heading to Tahiti with a bit of momentum. The team ended the SoCal 7s season with championship titles at Santa Barbara 7s and Tri Tip 7s (San Luis Obispo), and the core group of players who drove those successes are heading to Papeete 7s. Overall it’s a combination of vets, youth and some international players who spent the 7s or 15s season in LA but had to return home for various reasons. They’ll be flying in for the reunion tour.
“It’s a really great mix of guys,” said Kischuk, who will be serving as head coach in Tahiti. “There are a couple of players who have been with the club for 15s years — Cam Comiotes, Ernest Walker — and we have some really great, young players, too — Jacob Juvera. He’s young and has made really big strides this year. He’s really fun to watch.”
There are also a couple of players from Arizona, who are connected to Eagle Rock through coach director Ryan Matyas. The former Eagle and Major League Rugby player maintains strong relationships with his home state, and that has seen some youngsters across the border.
“We don’t enter tournaments as Eagle Rock unless we are going to compete to win the tournament,” Kischuk said of intentions. “Being in Tahiti means we can practice hard, play hard, but the guys can still have an amazing time. They’re not mutually exclusive things. But we’re trying to establish a brand and reputation, so the team we’re sending is a strong team.”
A full roster is heading to Tahiti, as the reports that came out of the 2022 tournament encouraged players to sort themselves for this overseas trip.
“They do a great job of hosting and take a lot of pride in being good hosts,” Kischuk said of an experience that goes well beyond the rugby pitch. “Everyone had a great time in 2022, and everyone who heard about it wanted to go this year. We’ll have a full complement of players this year, and good players, which will be a lot of fun.”
To learn more, visit Papeete 7s on Instagram, @papeetesevens.