2024 USA Club Rugby XVs Championship Matchups Set
Austin, TX – May 13, 2024
The 2024 USA Club Rugby XVs National Championship, exclusively streamed on The Rugby Network®, will be held on Friday, May 17 to Sunday May, 19, 2024. The venue for the event is:
Round Rock Multipurpose Complex
2001 North Kenney Fort Blvd.
Round Rock, Texas 78665
Tickets can be purchased in advance HERE, or at the gate.
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Event Overview:
The National Championship is the culmination of a season’s worth of senior club rugby which started for many Clubs in August of 2023, and progressed through their respective Union Championships to four Super Regional events held around the United States on May 4-5, 2024.
The event will feature fifteen total matches involving the top four Clubs in five different senior club divisions: Men’s Divisions 1, 2, and 3, and Women’s Divisions 1 and 2. Semifinals will be held on Friday and Saturday, and the Final for each division will be held on Sunday.
Here are the matchups by Division:
Women’s Division 1:
There are some familiar faces and some newcomers to the National Tournament in the Women’s D1 bracket.
The first Women’s D1 Semifinal features a matchup between the Utah Vipers (Gulf Coast Super Regional Champions) and the Pittsburgh Forge (Northern Super Regional Champions). The Vipers defeated Houston’s SHARCs 46-5 to advance. Pittsburgh won 28-5 over the Columbus Squirrels last November to earn a spot in Nationals.
The second Women’s D1 Semifinal features a rematch of last year’s Women’s D1 Final between Northern Virginia (NOVA) (the Atlantic Super Regional Champions) and the San Diego Surfers (winners of the Pacific Super Regional). Both Clubs have made several National Tournament appearances, with the Surfers coming away with the big trophy last year. This rematch should be great to watch.
Men’s Division 1:
Although none of the Men’s Division 1 teams qualifying for this year’s National Tournament are making their first trip to Nationals, none of them qualified for the tournament last year. The most-recently decorated Club is the Dallas Rugby Football Club (Gulf Coast Super Regional winners), who won a Division 1 title in 2022, but are making only their second appearance at Nationals in the Club’s 56 year history.
Dallas will face off in the second Men’s D1 Semifinal against a very stout St. Louis Bombers side that has been rolling over their competition all season, including a 76-5 victory over the Park City Haggis to take the Northern Super Regional crown.
The earlier Men’s D1 Semifinal will feature Belmont Shore (Pacific Super Regional winner) taking on the NOVA Men. Although Belmont has been in the National Tournament on several occasions, including as recently as 2022, NOVA is not quite as storied, but looking to change that at this year’s tournament.
Women’s Division 2:
The first Women’s D2 semifinal pits the Sacramento Amazon (Pacific Super Regional champs) against the women of Phoenixville White Horse (Atlantic Super Regional winners). The Amazons advanced to Nationals via a dominant 60-7 victory over Las Vegas Rugby, whereas White Horse prevailed 12-8 in a hard-fought battle with last year’s Women’s D2 National runner up, Severn River.
The second D2 Women’s Semifinal will feature Gulf Coast Super Regional champs Tampa Bay Crewe taking on Northern Super Regional victors, South Buffalo Rugby. The Crewe knocked off defending 2022 and 2023 Women’s D2 National Champions, the Knoxville Minx, to advance. South Buffalo won the Northern Super Regional and secured their spot at Nationals with a 34-14 win over Growlers Rugby.
Men’s Division 2:
The Men’s Division 2 field features two-time Atlantic Super Regional champions, the Boston Irish Wolfhounds against Pacific Super Regional champs, the Oceanside Chiefs. Boston defeated New York Rugby Club 31-22, to punch their ticket to Nationals, and the Chiefs got the win in the Pacific Super Regional over last year’s Men’s D2 Nationals runner-up, Boise United RFC, by a score of 41-32.
The second Men’s D2 Super Regional sees the return of the 2023 runners up, the Miami Trident, to the National Tournament on the strength of a hard-fought battle against NOLA Rugby in the Gulf Coast Super Regional. They will take on the Indianapolis Impalas who defeated the Denver Barbos in a close match, 21-14.
Men’s Division 3:
This division includes the defending National Champion, the Austin Blacks. Austin is coming off an undefeated season in the Texas Rugby Union, and will also have a home-town advantage at Nationals. They will take on the Northern Super Regional champion Red River Ruffians out of North Dakota, a Club that is having a Cinderella season of their own.
The other Men’s D3 semifinal sees Pacific Super Regional champs, Colusa County RFC out of California take on Boston’s Charles River Rugby, winners of the Atlantic Super Regional. Colusa earned its Nationals trip with a barn-burner of a win 57-53 over Santa Fe. Charles River punched their ticket with a 30-24 win over New York Old Blue RFC.
Streaming and Sponsorship Opportunity:
All matches played at the Club Rugby XVs National Tournament will be streamed exclusively on The Rugby Network®. Although registration is required, there will be no pay wall. Reasonably priced sponsorship packages that include ad spots on the stream, social media posts, and email blasts to USA Club Rugby’s members are available for the event. Please contact USA Club Rugby Treasurer, Dave Dodge (Treasurer@USAClub.Rugby) if you would like a copy of the sponsor deck.
Ticket Information:
Tickets will be available for purchase onsite for $10 per day. Kids under 12 are free.
Round Rock Multipurpose Complex
2001 North Kenney Fort Blvd.
Round Rock, Texas 78665
Tickets can be purchased in advance HERE, or at the gate.
About USA Club Rugby:
USA Club Rugby is the 501(c)(3) entity that serves as the national governing entity for all non-collegiate, adult rugby in the United States. Composed of Geographic Unions and their constituent senior Clubs, USA Club Rugby hosts two major championships—one for XVs and one for 7s—each year. USA Club Rugby operates under a sanctioning agreement with USA Rugby, the national governing body for rugby union in the United States, and a full USOPC and World Rugby member.
