The opening weekend in March shaped up to be a huge weekend of wins and growth for the Rugby Americas North Region. From Rookie Rugby to senior-side, our RAN teams kept fans on their toes and hungry for more.
USA Rugby Win ARC Championship for Second Year in a Row
The Eagles clinched their second Americas Rugby Championship title on Saturday and finished the tournament with a 5-0 record. The squad scored a total of 134 points throughout the tournament and held their opponents to 68 total points. No team scored more than 19 points against the Eagles during the campaign. The squad will now be taking a break before the June Emirates Airline Summer Series in Denver, Colorado, USA.
You can read more about the Eagle’s win here. See all results and media from the 2018 ARC Championship here.
Canada U-18s Sweep RAN Youth Olympic Qualifiers
Both the Canada Men’s and Women’s U-18 teams defeated USA in Las Vegas this weekend to earn the Rugby Americas North Youth Olympic Qualifier title. With the wins, Canada’s Women have officially booked their spot for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires later this year. Canada’s Men await the result of the upcoming Field Hockey Canada qualifiers to determine if they will be heading to The Games.
See scores from the weekend and read more about the tournament here. Read more from Rugby Canada here.
USA Rugby Win First-Ever USA Sevens Cup
The Men’s Eagles Sevens thrilled fans at Sam Boyd Stadium on Sunday with their win over Argentina. The win marks only the second Cup win for the team in the Series’ nearly 20 year history and a first for the team at their home stop in Las Vegas. The team shut out Argentina, winning 28-0 and propelled starts like Perry Baker and Danny Barrett to electric performances. If you haven’t checked out the highlights yet, head on over to Facebook or Twitter to be blown away by this weekend’s scores by the Eagles.
Read more from USA Rugby here.
Women’s and Youth Rugby Complete the Weekend’s Action
The USA Women’s Falcons competed in Vegas as well this weekend. The developmental team took part in an exhibition series. You can see photos from the matches here and here. Rugby Canada also hosted hundreds of kids at two HSBC Rookie Rugby presented by Honda clinics in greater Vancouver. You can see more photos from these very successful Rookie Rugby events here.
It’s hard to believe anything could top this weekend, but the Men’s Series heads to Canada Sevens March 10 and 11 with the Women’s tournament taking place May 12 and 13. Find out more on the Canada Sevens website.