Boys HS Rugby National Championship Seeds Confirmed
Boys HS Rugby National Championship Seeds Confirmed
The matchups in three Boys HS Rugby National Championships have been set.
The 2018 Boys High School Rugby National Championships competition committee has selected the seeds for next week's tournament in Kansas City, MO, and none of the defending champions have been seeded No. 1.
The BHSRNC takes place May 17-19 at Swope Soccer Village, with all 36 single-school, club, and Tier II bracket games streaming LIVE on FloRugby.
Defending single-school champion Jesuit of Sacramento has garnered a No. 4 seed after a couple of losses during the season, including in last week's Northern California final. Jesuit also lost to St. Edward (Ohio), hence St. Edward's No. 2 seed. Meanwhile, St. Edward lost to Gonzaga (DC), hence the No. 1 seed for the 2017 runner-up).
Herriman, which has enjoyed a very strong season in Utah, is seeded third overall. The committee of coaches, advisors, and media voted on the seeding, and only one seed was changed: Xavier (NY) and Penn (IN) switched places in order to prevent teams from the same region playing in the opening round.
SINGLE-SCHOOL BRACKET | |
Thursday, May 17 (All Times Central) | |
1 PM | No. 1 Gonzaga (DC) vs. No. 8 Greenwich (CT) |
3 PM | No. 4 Jesuit (CA) vs. No. 5 Fishers (IN) |
5 PM | No. 3 Herriman (Utah) vs. No. 6 Penn (IN) |
7 PM | No. 2 St. Edward (Ohio) vs. No. 7 Xavier (NY) |
In the club bracket, NorCal champ Danville has been seeded No. 1, with 2017 runner-up Fort Hunt (VA) at No. 2. Royal Irish (IN) had a shot at being the top seed, but two close losses in the Midwest Championships last weekend dropped the defending champion to No. 3 overall. United (Utah), Granite Bay (CA), and KC Jr. Blues (MO) are all very close and are seeded No. 4 through No. 6, respectively.
The big questions were about the Southern California teams. South Bay lost to the San Diego Mustangs early this season and seemed to be behind that team, but South Bay, which went 2-1 in Tier 2 in 2017, beat the Mustangs this past weekend in the playoffs. That result proved to be the difference as South Bay edged San Diego for the eighth seed.
CLUB BRACKET | |
Thursday, May 17 (All Times Central) | |
1 PM | No. 1 Danville vs. No. 8 South Bay |
3 PM | No. 4 United vs. No. 5 Granite Bay |
5 PM | No. 3 Royal Irish vs. No. 6 KC Junior Blues |
7 PM | No. 2 Fort Hunt vs. No. 7 Rhinos |
The Tier II bracket is probably the best that the BHSRNC has ever seen. This includes Rugby the Washington champion contender Eastside Lions, Georgia champion Phoenix Alpharetta, and other perennial state champions Wando (SC), and Union County (NJ). St. Thomas Aquinas (KS), which won the 2017 Tier II title in a dramatic overtime victory, is seeded No. 3.
TIER II BRACKET | |
Thursday, May 17 (All Times Central) | |
1 PM | No. 1 East Side (WA) vs. No. 8 Brownsburg (IN) |
3 PM | No. 4 Phoenix Alpharetta (GA) vs. No. 5 Aspetuck (CT) |
5 PM | No. 3 St. Thomas (KS) vs. No. 6 Wando (SC) |
7 PM | No. 2 San Diego vs. No. 7 Union (NJ) |
All three brackets are set up as follows:
Each team plays one game each day. The games are 60 minutes, allowing for a 10-minute overtime if needed. The winners go on to the semis and then the final. But there are consolation brackets, so every team plays three games in three days.