🆕Best of the West Tourney: 0 days (Today and Tomorrow)

🏆Nationals Tournament: 6 days (May 22nd-24th)

🏟️ Utah has another tournament on tap.
The Best of the West tournament happens this weekend.
Notable teams: East HS (UT), Cavemen (UT), Lamorinda (CA), Santa Monica (CA), Olympus (UT), Mountain Ridge (UT), Brighton (UT), Thunder Rugby (CA)
When: May 16th (today) and May 17th (tomorrow)
Where: Regional Athletic Complex—Salt Lake City, Utah
Watch it: Streaming live here, courtesy of GOLS.

🏆PA and WA about to crown champs.
Opposite ends of the country, same thing happening—State Finals.
Pennsylvania:
Doylestown vs Gregory the Great — Sunday, May 18
Déjà vu: Last time these two met in the final (2021), Doylestown cruised in their semi while GGA squeaked past St. Joe’s by 3 points. Sound familiar? Same setup this year. Doylestown just beat Malvern Prep 47-0. GGA held off St. Joe’s 23-20.
This final is gonna be a banger.

Washington:
Eastside has steamrolled Washington teams all year. They’re undefeated and looking dominant.
Liberty’s had some ups and downs, but they’ve played a tough schedule—including the Montana tournament—and that might give them a slight edge in the grit department.

😬 A couple state champs we missed
In Virginia, Fort Hunt won the State Title for the eighth time (!), defeating the Richmond Strikers in a 38-37 nail biter.
In Colorado, the score between Denver East and Valor was just as close—Denver East won 26-25 to take home the hardware.

📣Ohio Playoffs
The brackets are set for Rugby Ohio playoffs.
Teams to watch: Keep an eye on Medina and Warrior Rugby in tier 2. Both are riding great regular seasons into the playoffs. Also watch St. Edward against St. Xavier (OH)—that should be a good rematch. St. Ed’s won 38-21 in their first meeting.

🛬Flying under the radar?
With nationals taking center stage this time of year, several teams may feel a bit unseen. Here are a few in the NE that we think are worthy of more attention:

BC High (MA)—They just beat a legit Belmont side 54–19. Belmont gave them everything early on, but BC High found their groove and blew it open in the second half. Massachusetts rugby isn’t talked about enough—we’d love to see Belmont and Xaverian Bros take more out-of-state swings.

Rye (NY)—Huge showdown this weekend with Xavier. Rye’s been hot this year, and this will be their biggest test yet. We’re eager to see how they stack up against the team that just earned the #2 seed at nationals.

Trumbull (CT)—Quietly one of the best teams in the Northeast. Wins over Greenwich and Fairfield Prep. Held their own against BC High. If Greenwich shows well at nationals, Trumbull’s season is going to look even better.

Here are some matches we’re excited about.

🧨 East HS (UT) vs Lamorinda (CA)

Best of the West – May 16 (today)

This one’s spicy. Lamorinda just lost the NorCal Gold title in heartbreaking fashion to San Mateo. East HS, meanwhile, came up short in a stacked Utah league, falling to LCA in the semis. Both teams are battle-tested and could make a legit case for being at nationals. Expect a tight one.

🔬 Mountain Ridge (UT) vs Santa Monica (CA)

Best of the West – May 17 (tomorrow)

This matchup might fly under the radar, but we’re all about it. Both programs sit in Tier 2 of their respective regions—and that makes this a great test of depth in SoCal vs Utah rugby. We’re curious what this one says about two of the country’s strongest pipelines.

🥊 Layton Christian (UT) vs Belmont Shore (CA)

Nationals – Round 1, May 22

Both squads are coming off physical battles in their state finals. Punishing runs, big collisions, and plenty of bruises are on the menu. This might be the most bone-crunching match of day one at nationals.

🧠 SD Mustangs (CA) vs Woodlands (TX)

Nationals – Round 1, May 22

This is high-IQ rugby. Both of these proud clubs have built serious development systems and know how to win with skill and tactics. Early round games can be about managing minutes—watch for tactical depth and rotation choices here. It’ll be interesting to see if any key playmakers sit this one out—though we’re not sure you can afford to sit your stars in this type of matchup.

❓ La Salette (IL) vs Sacramento Jesuit (CA)

Nationals – Round 1, May 22

This one’s a mystery—color me intrigued. Jesuit’s been off for nearly a month (will they be rested or rusty?), while La Salette has outclassed their region. But Jesuit’s been forged in NorCal fire since January. We’ll find out real quick what La Salette’s made of.

👑 Gonzaga (DC) vs Herriman (UT)

Nationals – Round 1, May 22

It’s been a tough season for the defending champs, but Gonzaga isn’t sneaking up on anyone. Herriman knows better than to overlook a team with this much pedigree. Can the Eagles find some magic and finish the year strong? Or will a fully healthy Herriman side make a big statement in the first round?

👀 Eastside (WA) vs New Trier (IL)

Nationals – Round 1, May 22

Eastside has crushed everyone in Washington so far, but we haven’t seen them tested much outside the state. Their only out-of-state matchup was way back in February. New Trier’s had a more varied schedule, so this will be a useful data point—not just for both teams’ nationals ambitions, but for how WA rugby stacks up beyond its borders this year.

Think you know rugby? Prove it!

Oddball musings, induced by borderline hypothermia.

🏉 What if teams had their travel expenses subsidized for Nationals?
Could we finally have a real bracketed, play-in national tournament? Might be a good use of funds if World Rugby ever decides to grow the sport here in the U.S. Just a thought.

🏉 Referees should be required to watch two international games per week to keep their certification.
Also—if we’re serious about growing the game, getting some of these super talented high school players into the reffing ranks would be a huge boost.

🏉 Which high school has produced the most Eagles?
Genuinely curious. If you know, let us know. Seems like something worth digging into.