Rugby Northeast held its conference 7s championships last weekend and awarded seeds to multiple national 7s competitions. Its Division I belongs to CRAA, and all six teams, plus five B sides, reported to UMASS Amherst for a season-ending tournament. Northeastern University paired its 15s conference title with a 7s title, going undefeated on the day and earning a spot at the May 13-14 7s championship in Dallas, Texas.
RELATED: CRAA to Hold 2 Separate 7s Championship Events
The six teams were divided into two pools of three teams, and Northeastern and UCONN topped their respective groups. The semifinals were both decided by a converted try or less, as UMASS pushed Northeastern to a 22-14 decision, and Boston fell 10-5 to UCONN. UMASS had the gas for a third place finish, beating Boston 19-10, while Northeastern legged out a 21-5 title win against UCONN.
POOL A
Northeastern 36-0 Rhode Island
Northeastern 35-12 Boston
Boston 35-0 Rhode Island
POOL B
UCONN 17-10 Boston College
UCONN 15-5 UMASS
UMASS 31-0 Boston College
SEMIFINALS
Northeastern 22-14 UMASS
UCONN 10-5 Boston
3rd: UMASS 19-10 Boston
Final: Northeastern 21-5 UCONN
There was also a B side round robin, as every team except Rhode Island provided a second team. The placing rounds were not played, however, the final standings saw Northeastern and UCONN also finish first and second, respectively. When the Maddogs played the Huskies during the round robin, they won 29-0. In fact, Northeastern’s B side had the best point differential across the entire field, with 10 points against and 120 points scored across four games.
Northeastern head coach Keith Cattanach confirmed that the Maddogs will be traveling to Dallas for the DI 7s national championship on May 13-14. There has been little communication out of CRAA as to other teams that have qualified.