PR7s All-Stars Bloom in Portland

Premier Rugby 7s (PR7s) hit all the right notes with its all-star tournament last Sunday. With record speed, the organization found a city, stadium and support base that allowed rugby players local and international, amateur and Olympian, to celebrate their sport in a professional setting.

The timing was right. The USA Women’s 7s team won an Olympic bronze medal during the summer, and the sport was enjoying all kinds of new visibility — whether through Dancing With the Stars, opening pitches at MLB games, hometown parades, school visits, etc. But rugby needed its thing, and PR7s was able to create that opportunity.

In September, PR7s CEO Owen Scannell started reaching out to venues to see who might be interested in hosting a one-day 7s tournament. Portland’s Providence Park, a Major League Soccer arena, was part of the short list and shot to the top once it was willing to accommodate rugby goal posts. And the stadium is just beautiful. It’s situated downtown, surrounded by great food, and easy to access. However, parking is limited so mass transit is the way to go.

The USA men’s and women’s teams committed to the event, happy to play in front of a hometown crowd and for the runout ahead of the HSBC SVNS series. There’s been plenty of turnover since the Olympics, and the women in particular brought in 10 new players to Chula Vista to replace those leaving the program, taking a break or rehabbing. As Autumn Czaplicki confirmed during the press conference, Portland was like a coming out party for this new-look team.

“[W]e almost wanted to wait a little bit to see what their strengths are and what makes them them,” USA Women’s 7s Team Head Coach Emilie Bydwell said ahead of the team’s profile. “How are they going to be able to play together to be the best versions of themselves, and then work to design that together. That’s going to be a process and we’re just at the start of the quad from that perspective. We’re trying to be — and we are — fast, dynamic and dictative, and we hope that comes out in how we play.”

Ben Pinkleman stepped in as interim head coach for the men, while Simon Amor, who was in Portland, waits for his visa to clear. PR7s then assembled all-star teams for the first time ever, and those squads were packed with talent. The PR7s women’s team had representatives from seven franchises, and many players are on the USA 7s radar. Monique Coffey, Cienna Jordan, Katie Lohaus, Salome Unga Lewis, Syd Copeland and Cassidy Bargell all attended the high-performance camp in Chula Vista in September. Bargell is of course a capped USA 15s player.

And then the Canada Women signed on. Now there would be two Olympic-medaling teams in Portland, and suddenly the lineup got that much tastier. Much like the USA, the Canadian side included a handful of Paris Olympians to set the foundation for an otherwise young team. The majority of the players who broke ground in Providence Park will be heading onto Dubai end of month, too.

The lineup included three international teams, two all-star teams, and then an exhibition schedule that showcased a wider range of Pacific Northwest rugby. In one event, onlookers could see a progression of high schoolers, collegians, senior club players, pro 7S players, national team players and Olympians.

The PNW Loggers and TOA U18 girls took to the pitch first. Many of the players interacted during Saturday’s free skills camp, which drew approximately 90 players to the golden-rimmed grass at Duniway Park (see below).  The sidelines also lined with parents, players and staff who wanted to see the likes of Sammy Sullivan, Kelly Griffin, Spiff Sedrick and a host of PR7s stars at work.

 

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In Sunday’s game, the Loggers scored first, but then TOA piled on with tries from Alyssa Hine, Kanani Watts, Cami Jepson, among others, in a 38-12 win. Also, loved the Fowler sisters on defense. All of these players hail from the Boise area and compete in school district-supported competitions. It was a great display of top-notch high school rugby, and the crowd was all about it.

The Univ. Oregon and ORSU Women+ also got their shot inside the stadium and big support groups in the stands. The Dirty Ducks prevailed 12-0 and got notable performances from Chayse McCann and Isabelle Sandoval, among many others. Also great to see 2016 Olympian Bui Baravilala coaching on the sidelines with ORSU. The senior club men were also on display, as two ORSU teams played each other. If this PR7s All-Star Tournament continues in the future, there is a lot of potential here to build out the exhibition schedule and draw even more local support.

 

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But the Pacific Northwest rugby community absolutely did show up. The event came together quickly, the weather was un-ideal, but the attendance surpassed any previous PR7s tournament. Throughout the weekend, I met people who understood the significance of showing up in the stands. Loggers Girls Director Heidi Whitman, who is a nurse in non-rugby life, brought co-workers south from Seattle. Empty stands don’t encourage a return.

And of course, the international and all-star teams showed up as well. On the women’s side, the Canadians went 2-0 on the day, and Asia Hogan-Rochester was named MVP after a three-try performance against the USA. The Americans went 1-1, beating the PR7s 22-12 and dropping a 26-5 game (in the hardest rain of the day) to Canada.

Results wise, the stakes were low, as teams didn’t have much time to train together. And besides, the main event felt like a special opportunity to see the next generation of players filing into Olympic medal-winning programs. Viewers immediately learned a new name: Kaylen Thomas. The Tennessee native brought great speed around the corner and in the chase-down, and the tenacity in contact that one might expect from a wrestling state champion. It was also good to see Nia Toliver on the pitch, too, who ran some good support lines off Thomas and went on some big power carries through the middle. Sariah Ibarra also showed well and earned high marks from Bydwell, who noted an impressive calm and steadiness in the teenager’s demeanor. Read USA Rugby’s full recap on the games.

“The thing that they did show us was that — whether it [was against] the All-Stars or Canada — if we didn’t get our alignment right, we conceded a line break — whatever — they were all going to try to work back to be in a position to make a tackle, to have a hunt opportunity,” Bydwell said of team attributes that came through. “We can build everything else, but the fact that they’re already prepared to do that, I think that was really great.”

Expect to see many of the same players heading to Dubai end of month. Roster announcement should post this week.

For me, there were a bunch of details that really encourage a return trip, should this event be replicated. I love how accessible rugby people are and that trait was on display at Kells Brewery Saturday night, as Bydwell, Amor, Scannell, USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren, Dallen Stanford, among many other rugby luminaries, mixed with the rugby public. That’s also where I met a bunch of refs, who promptly invited me to their team dinner, reaffirming the fact that they are the most convivial of the rugby groups.

In the stadium, photographer Alex Ho — who is now the official photog for USA 7s and PR7s — might have banked the most steps on the day. Just hustling! And I really enjoyed the press conference. Given the spirit of the event, the group interview was light and fun, and players and coaches were happy to chat.

The only other shoutout goes to Park Lane Suites & Inn, where I stayed. It was a five-minute walk to the stadium, and thus a parking spot was baked in. There are fresh-baked Otis Spunkmeyer cookies at reception all day, and a set of shower slippers that keep your PNW mud at the door. My feelings toward sugar and dirt are strong, so this motel was a hit for me.