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Rugby, a sport once relegated to the confines of spring, is still going full force this summer. The month of June saw the Texas Select rugby teams in action in Denver and Baltimore. Hot and sultry July features the US National team camps in Elkhart, Indiana and summer 7s have been going full blast throughout the summer. There is plenty of great rugby action to go around and this blog will catch you up on all of the excitement that has happened so far!
U17 Tour to Denver The Texas Rugby Union recently created the U17 Select Side squad. Until this year elite rugby in Texas consisted only of a U19 team. In an effort to bring Texas Elite Rugby in-line with USA Rugby, the U17 team was formed. The team was chosen from among the best U17 (under-17) players in the state after they attended two elite camps. The last camp was a grueling two day affair held on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. 
Once the squad was chosen the team management picked the Rocky Mountain Challenge Cup in Denver to compete in. Traditionally, Texas teams will compete in one elite tournament per summer. The Rocky Mountain Challenge Cup is considered to be the premier all-star tournament in the country, so the sights were set high for the inaugural tour of the U17s.
The team did not let Texas down with a thrilling tournament. In their first match they faced the Eastern Rockies RFU, crushing them in a 31-0 win. The Texans put on an offensive clinic against ERRFU and followed this impressive display with a 41-0 thrashing of Heart of America RFU. On the second day TRU faced some tougher competition when they opened play against Louisiana RFU on Sunday morning. Texas came out on top 12-10 in a match that wasn’t decided until the last seconds when flyhalf Conor Mills (St. Thomas) spun the ball wide to wing Taylor Hunter (Woodlands) who scored in the corner. This thrilling win put the Texas team in the final against Heart of America who came back from their earlier loss to win all of their matches.
 Conor Mills and Mitch Early on the Attack
The final proved to be even more thrilling than the Louisiana match with Texas winning in the waning seconds for a 14-7 victory and the championship. The final score occurred after a furious Texas defensive stand forced Heart of America to turn the ball over deep in their own end. Scrumhalf Mitchell Early (Woodlands) found flyhalf Conor Mills who then broke four tackles on the way in for the score. Mills made an extremely difficult conversion from the sideline for the final points and the win.
In addition to earning the championship trophy, seven Texas players were named to the All Tournament team: Josh Alden (Woodlands), Loren Baker (Woodlands), Curtis Chaffin (Katy), Tyler Haney (Katy), Conor Mills (St. Thomas), and Nick Roach (Katy). Fourteen of the 25 players named to the squad were from the Houston area, which bodes well for the future of rugby in our area. It is also a testament to the quality and skill of the local coaches and athletes. Some of the tournaments most exciting moments came from Curtis Chaffin, who continues to impress everyone who sees him with his dazzling runs. This was a very exciting and well-run tournament and the young men made everyone proud with the character they displayed both on and off the pitch.
U19 Tour to Baltimore
The Texas Select U19 squad traveled to Baltimore for the 3rd Annual All-Star Challenge Cup and won the championship in thrilling fashion. Matches were played in downtown Baltimore at Bocek Park; The tournament was attended by select-side players from around the country (Potomac Rugby Union, Carolina U19 Rugby, New York State Rugby, MET Rugby Football Union, Florida Trojans Rugby, Minnesota Rugby Football Union, Pittsburgh Harlequins Select Side Rugby, and the Eastern Penn Blues U19), with USA selectors watching all the matches for future national team talent.  Walter McAndrew, Michael Romero, and Chris Ferrante with the Championship Trophy
Texas won both their matches on Saturday in convincing fashion, defeating Eastern Penn Rugby Union 53 -0 and MET RFU 36-5; Texas dominated both matches from beginning to end; Minnesota RFU provided the Avispas Rojas (the official name of the Texas Elite Rugby teams) with a sterner test on Sunday morning, with Texas coming out the victors in a 10-5 affair that was not decided until the last minutes of the match; This proved to be a precursor for an exciting final which saw Texas face Potomac RFU; Texas once again came out on top after a thrilling 25-21 victory; The Texas U19s provided their signature defense, hard and physical, throughout the tournament, providing the foundation for all their wins. Texas A&M and USA star Hamish Roberts (former Woodlands player) was named the tournament MVP for his outstanding efforts and leadership throughout the weekend The Texan sweep in Baltimore was combined with the early championship by the U17s in Denver, leaving Texas Elite Youth Rugby undefeated this summer; In addition, as a result of their efforts during the tournament, a number of the Texas players were invited to attend the USA Elite Performance Camp in July at Elkart, Indiana.
News From Elkhart Both of the tournaments resulted in a number of invitations for local players to attend the national camp tryouts. Chris Ferrante (St. Thomas) was among the starters who played against a Canadian all-star team with the U19 squad and Andres Diaz (St. Thomas) did likewise with the U18 squad. Both of these players had been named to the All Greater Houston Area Rugby team early this summer. At the U17 camp both Mitchell Early (Woodlands) and Conor Mills (St. Thomas) started for the US side which beat the Ontario Select Side 29-27 in a thrilling match at the end of camp. The Ontario team was composed of Canadian internationals, so it was a big win for the U17 group. Congratulations to all of our local area players who performed so well this summer!
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