SPRING, TX- The Red River Rugby Conference 7's Qualifier Series concluded Saturday at the Hell or High Water 7's hosted by the Houston Athletic Rugby Club at the Farm League Park in Spring, TX.
In the men's bracket, following pool play the Dallas Reds, New Orleans Rugby and the Austin Huns finished undefeated and received the top three seeds heading to the quarterfinals. The Reds and New Orleans both held their opponents scoreless in their quarterfinal match. The Reds defeated host Houston Athletic Rugby Club 49-0 and New Orleans defeated the other Houston entry, Houston United Rugby, 36-0.
The Reds 2 squad defeated the Austin Huns 'B' side 40-17 and the Austin Huns 'A' squad advanced with a 26-7 victory over The Woodlands.s The two Reds teams faced off in the semi-finals and the Reds 1 team maintained their shutout streak as they defeated the Reds 2 side 13-0. The Austin Huns clinched a spot in the final with a 29-7 victory over New Orleans 29-7.
In the final the Huns were able to slip by the Reds with a 24-19 and declare themselves the Hell or High Water 7's champions and take home the cow skull trophy. Hun's player Aaron Boan was voted tournament MVP.
Both New Orleans and the Reds qualify for the USA Club Rugby 7s National Championships in New York starting August 11.
New Orleans is in Pool B with Santa Monica Dolphins, Metropolis and Washington Athletic. The Dallas Reds are in Pool C with Old Blue (New York), Cleveland Academy and the Kansas City Blues.
The women's side saw favorites American Rugby Pro (ARPTC) send two squads a Blue and White side.
The teams were put in separate pools. They both finished pool play undefeated. ARPTC Blue a 2-0 record and ARPTC White finished 3-0. The semi-finals saw ARPTC Blue defeat host the sHARCs 48-0 and in a surprise at the tournament the Valkyries from Austin upset ARPTC White 19-14.b In the final we saw a rematch from an earlier pool match. The final the game was much more competitive as ARPTC Blue defeated the Valks 19-14.
Both ARPTC teams will represent the Red River Conference at the USA Club Rugby 7's National Championships. The 'White' side is in Pool B with the San Diego Surfers, Chicago Lions and the Berkeley All Blues. The 'Blue' squad will be in Pool D with the Scion Sirens, Metropolis Rugby and Boston Rugby.
