Hey there, Rugby Rioter!
👊Happy Wednesday.
Today we've got new faces, Eagle frustrations, and a PowerPoint you have to see.
Packed with rugby. Let’s go! 👇
In This Issue
NAI Sevens (Utah): 2 days (July 25th)
Pacific Nations Cup (round 1): 45 days (September 6th) - USA vs Japan
West Coast Sevens (round 1): 66 days (September 27th)
🛑 HOLD UP, RUGGER
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Note: Deadline is July 31st. You’ve only got a week left to enter.
✍️New Rugby Riot contributors get rocking
We’re pumped to introduce a couple more young bucks, spilling ink for Rugby Riot:
Joe Deinhart and Joe Mackin
Deinhart recently graduated from St. Ignatius (OH) and played a huge role in their national title-winning season this spring.
Mackin, a La Salette (IL) grad, has a deep love for the game—he even did color commentary for the Tier 2 final at Nationals.
Check out their first pieces below—give ’em a read and show ’em some love 👇
🇺🇸 Baby Eagles go undefeated in Mexico
By: Joe Deinhart
There was cause for celebration in Mexico for the U19 Eagles. They completed an undefeated campaign in the RAN championship with a dominant 48-8 win over Jamaica. Led by flyhalf Declan Cadden (former SD Mustang), the Baby Eagles exposed Jamaica's edge defenders with impressive ruck speed and seamless interplay.
Jamaica attacked the Eaglets with a distinctly island style of rugby…READ MORE.
🔦Player Spotlight—Connor Hanlon
By: Joe Mackin
Some say that rugby is just a hobby, just for fun, or to condition for football. Well, enter stage left, Connor Hanlon. He went from having never played rugby before high school to becoming one of the premier fullbacks in the nation, and helping lead the La Salette Lions to a 15-1 record and a third place finish at the national tournament. Talk about Disney movie material…READ MORE.
Quick heads-up.
There are only a few spots left in the high school division at West Coast Sevens.
👇Click the banner to sign up before you totally miss out.
👊 Quick Hits
🇺🇸Eagles faceplant
The USA Men’s National Team thoroughly pooped their shorts against England on Saturday. They tried everything—lightning delays, cutting off the beer in the second half, more lightning delays—but England could not be slowed. The Eagles even tried playing some rugby. No dice. A 40–5 final scoreline almost feels merciful.
First-half tries by Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, and Caden Murley put England up 19-0 at the break. It could have been a wider margin, but video review called back a couple England scores.
After several lengthy weather delays, England picked up where they left off. By the time replacement hooker Gabriel Oghre dotted down their sixth try, the rout was complete and the crowd had thinned.
The Eagles were nearly held scoreless, but a slick play in the final moments by Christian Poidevin and Shilo Klein spared the hosts that indignity. A small consolation.
Next up: the Pacific Nations Cup this fall. And after a 1–2 summer test record, eyes will be on whether changes—any changes—are made.
There’s plenty to critique, from the domestic talent pipeline to roster decisions. But for now, we’ll just say this:
We’ve got a looong way to go. And everyone knows it.
Oh, and beyond the on-field product, the road to 2031 is still a logistical mine field. Stadiums, scheduling, and development infrastructure all need answers. That said, World Rugby keeps assuring us the Brinks truck is coming: reportedly $275 million over five years will be poured into American rugby.
We’ll see how that gets spent—and if it moves the needle.
🎤 Colorful commentary
Here’s a twist: Many England fans loved the American broadcast.
What we often see as a weakness—over-the-top NFL-style enthusiasm, limited rugby knowledge—was praised in Reddit threads as “a breath of fresh air.”
Apparently, some English viewers are tired of dry, tactical commentary. The American booth brought raw energy (and a few clumsy phrases), but at least it wasn’t another 80 minutes of ruck diagrams and kicking-technique tangents.
The grass is always greener, eh? 🤷♂️
🏉NAI Sevens incoming
🗓️When: July 25 & 26
📍Where: Salt Lake City, Utah
📺Watch: Live-stream here by GOLS
This is the big one—the sevens tournament kids have been grinding toward all summer. Teams from across the country will clash in competitive brackets spanning U14 to U23.
In the U18 and U23 men’s divisions, keep an eye out for:
Belmont Shore (CA)
Layton Christian (UT)
Barbarians (TX)
San Mateo Wolverines (CA)
Mustangs (UT — featuring many former Herriman players)
Last year, the Mustangs claimed the U23 title. Rebel Rugby Academy won the U18 Elite division, while Team Related—built around East HS (UT)—took home the U18 Open division crown.
We’ll circle back after the event to celebrate the winners and recap the tournament.
Stay tuned!
Let’s say you’re a 9th grader.
You’re dying to play rugby, but your parents are skeptical.
What do you do?
Before he helped the San Diego Mustangs win their first national title this year, Will Schreck was in that exact position. Four years ago, he was begging to play rugby, but his parents had some valid concerns: the physicality, the time commitment, and the general chaos of high school life.
So what did he do?
He made a PowerPoint presentation.
No joke.
Freshman Will Schreck built a full-on slideshow to convince his parents to let him play rugby. And it worked!
How awesome is that?
And guess what, he gave us permission to share it.
It’s gold. We need more kids with this kind of energy.
👇 Here’s the original PowerPoint he showed his folks:
How great is that?
Just a few years after making that presentation, Will helped the San Diego Mustangs win it all at nationals.
We’re grateful he let us share a small piece of that journey.
Thanks Will!
Will Schreck smashes through contact at Nationals 2025.
That’s a wrap, gang!
Next time we’ll have more dope rugby stuff to share with you; scores, highlights, stories… all the goods.
If you like this stuff, share it with your friends!
Be well, ruck with gusto, and may your compression shorts always stay in place.
-The Rugby Riot Team