🏆Friendship Cup: This weekend. March 29-30.

🏉Gonzaga Classic: 15 days (April 12th)

🏔️Montana Invitational: 29 days (April 26th)

🇺🇸Nationals Tournament: 55 days (May 22nd)

#GrowTheGame

🏉 We keep seeing something called TagX International pop into our inbox. It’s a platform for organizing touch rugby leagues and tournaments, and there are some big names backing it—Perry Baker, Dallen Stanford, to name a couple. They’ve got a showcase event coming up in Germantown, Maryland on April 26th.

Seems like an interesting concept. If it helps grow the game, we’re all for it. If you’ve tried it out or know more about it, hit us up—we’d love to hear what it’s like.

🏟️ Meanwhile, up in Washington State, a guy named Lucas Kjar is making some serious moves. He’s a co-owner of the Utah Warriors and is currently building a sports facility in Spokane Valley, with youth rugby as a core focus.

We love hearing about this kind of stuff—people investing in the sport and building something lasting. Worth keeping an eye on.

🇺🇸Nationals Bound:

These teams won their Nationals play-in games:

Greenwich (CT)
Close win over rival Staples. (Score: 14-10)

La Salette (IL)
Convincing victory over Penn HS (IN). (Score: 43-17)

St. Edward (OH)
Solid win over Moeller (OH) 29-8.

Fort Hunt (VA)
Victorious in a high octane clash with Vienna (VA). (Score: 40-31)

Berks (PA)
These lads beat Aspetuck (CT) in a tight 22-21 match.

New Trier (IL)
A super close 17-15 victory over Pendleton (IN).

🏆Jesuit Tourney:

This weekend, the NE Jesuit Tournament kicks off and some heavy hitters are involved.

📋Here’s who’s attending:
Fairfield Prep (CT)
Canisius Prep (NY)
Simsbury HS (CT)
Boston College (MA)
McQuaid Jesuit (NY)
Fairfield Pegasi (CT)
Fordham (NY)
Trumbull (CT)

That’s quite the lineup! We’ll follow up afterwards and give you the deets.

St. Edward (OH), St. Martin’s (KS), La Salette (IL)

All three of these teams play each other this weekend—with Notre Dame De La Salette hosting in Illinois.

👉Interesting details: 
- La Salette and St. Edward both just earned a spot at Nationals with their respective wins last week.
- St. Martin’s went to Nationals last year—and played admirably—but they decided to forgo the tournament in Elkhart this season and focus on capturing another Kansas State Title.

🔍Things we’re watching:
- How will St. Martin’s look against some stiff competition? We know they’ve battered a couple opponents in preseason action, but this weekend is their first big test.
- Has St. Edward found their groove? Things were rough the first few weeks for these gentlemen, but a Nationals-clinching win last week might be a sign that they’re starting to click. The St. Ed’s boys looked great for 95% of their St. Ignatius match—this weekend they’ll look to put the whole package together against two strong teams.
- La Salette—how good are they? There have been whisperings that this is a team to watch this season. A strong performance this weekend will likely earn them some attention, especially from other single schools attending Nationals this May.

Granite Bay (CA) vs Danville (CA)

A NorCal clash between two rock-solid teams.

This one’s shaping up to be a battle of strengths. Both squads have handled most of their opponents with ease—and both came out on top in nail-biters against Sacramento Jesuit. Granite Bay won that matchup 29–22. Danville? 29–24.

Scorelines don’t tell the whole story, but it’s hard to ignore how closely these teams have mirrored each other so far this season. Both are disciplined, physical, and well-coached—and both know what it takes to win close games.

In a loaded NorCal Premier division, this one has real weight. With two proven squads and plenty of shared history, don’t be surprised if this one goes down to the wire.

Gregory the Great (PA) vs St. Joe’s Prep (PA)

A rematch of last year’s PA state final? Bring it on.

Last spring, these two met in an all-timer of a championship game. St. Joe’s led by 12 with six minutes to go—but GGA stormed back and stole the title at the death. A brutal finish for Prep. A gutsy, unforgettable win for GGA.

This Sunday marks their first meeting since that wild final, and you can bet both sides have had it circled. Prep’s looking for payback. GGA’s out to defend their title—and with a target on their back, they know every game matters.

Prep recently returned from an Italy tour and wasted no time, thumping Cumberland Valley 55–3. GGA’s coming off a 34–14 win over Berks.

Chances are, these two will cross paths again in the playoffs. But this one should give us a good read on where they stand right now.

And yes—it’s a rivalry game. GGA and St. Joe’s have been trading heartbreak and heroics since 2008. Whenever they play, it’s fireworks.

Xavier (NY) vs Greenwich (CT)

Two of the East Coast’s best go head-to-head this weekend—and there’s a bit of recent history here. Greenwich got the win when these teams met last year, and Xavier hasn’t forgotten it.

Xavier comes in battle-tested and rolling. They’ve outscored opponents 150–43 through their first four matches and, despite some postgame humility about “cleaning things up,” they’re looking like the top dogs out east right now.

Greenwich, meanwhile, is coming off a gritty season-opening win over Staples—a team Xavier also beat a couple weeks back. They’ve got a tight defense and the kind of athletes who can turn a game on its head.

🏆Friendship Cup🏆

Knoxville, TN — March 29-30

Some of the top club teams in the country are heading to Knoxville this weekend, and the matchups are legit. Two days. High-level rugby. A real test for anyone with national aspirations.

⚔️ Games we’ve got circled:

• Cavemen (UT) vs Charlotte Cardinals (NC)

• Charlotte Cardinals (NC) vs Woodlands (TX)

• Raptor Rugby (TN) vs Woodlands (TX)

• Charlotte Tigers (NC) vs Woodlands (TX)

Plenty of eyes will be on the Charlotte Cardinals vs. Woodlands matchup—a rematch of last year’s Nationals final. The Cardinals are the defending champs and the gold standard in the club division. For Woodlands, it’s a chance to measure progress—and maybe even the score.

Just for fun, who do you think will win that matchup?👇

Coaches’ Quotes:

Think you know rugby? Prove it!

We already posted this quote in our weekly roundup, but it’s worth sharing again.

Oddball musings, induced by borderline hypothermia.

🏉 Flag rugby’s growing fast—but is it a true pipeline to the real deal, or just its own lane entirely? Someone please explain where this thing fits.

🏉 New favorite phrase: An English pro called overly chatty fans “potholes.” As in, “I was trying to get to the hotel elevator, but the lobby was full of potholes.” 😂

🏉 Filming HS rugby is chaos. Drones hovering like the Eye of Sauron. AI cams missing every conversion. Footage that looks like it was shot on a potato. Shoutout to the legends in the stands actually getting clean, steady clips—you’re doing the Lord’s work.