Collegiate Rugby Championships hit PPL Saturday

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Friday, June 3, 2011
Posted: 9 a.m.

By Joe McIntyre
For CSNPhilly.com

For a city that prides itself on being tough comes a sport known for nothing but its toughness.

Beginning Saturday at PPL Park, 16 mens' and eight womens' teams will compete in the 2011 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championships. The two day event begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and, along with a number of nationally-known universities, includes two local schools in Penn State and Temple.

Though collegiate rugby is considered only a club or "virtual varsity" sport and is not an NCAA-sanctioned activity, the sport is gaining popularity nationwide and in the Philadelphia area.

A 2011 study by England's Coventry University found that rugby participation by Americans had increased 18 percent in recent years, with 3,000 U.S. high schools having organized rugby programs, including 50 in the Philadelphia area.

Rugby shouldn't be a tough sell in a city like Philadelphia, either, Temple head coach John Sciotto said, and he's hoping that with the championships in the city, its popularity in the area will only continue to grow.

"I've played three events in the area here, and I think we're going to have a great turnout," Sciotto said. "I think it'll be a younger, energetic kind of crowd. It'll be very similar to the soccer crowds, and with the block party outside, it'll be more like a festival feeling."

There are four mens' pools in the championship, with Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas joining Temple in Pool D, and California, LSU and Ohio State joining Penn State in Pool A.

Unlike traditional rugby, which has 15 players a side, sevens is a faster-paced seven-on-seven game that rewards speed and skill.

It may be somewhat difficult to pick up at first, Penn State head coach Don Ferrell said, but with 24 matches on the first day, itll only be a matter of time before fans begin to comprehend, and eventually, fall in love with the game.

There are fewer people in sevens, so not as much contact, Ferrell said. So I think sevens is a great way for a casual fan to start trying to understand the rules of rugby, and it'll eventually make a lot more sense to them.

Penn States Day 1 matches are at 9:58 a.m. against LSU, 12:54 p.m. against Ohio State and 4:06 p.m. against California. Temples matches begin against Arizona at 12:10 p.m., Texas at 3:16 p.m. and Saturdays final match against Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m.

Last years championships were played in Columbus, Ohio and Penn State captain Chris Saint said the Buckeyes used the home crowd to their advantage to defeat the Nittany Lions.

Both Penn State and Temple have large alumni bases in the Philadelphia area and Saint, as well as Temples Pat Grieder, expect the casual fan and the passionate alumni to give their schools the home field advantage.

Alumni can say, 'I know someone who goes to Temple, maybe I'll go check it out, Grieder said. Or Penn State for example, I think that'll help get more local people to come out for sure.

If the Owls and Lions were to meet each other, it wouldnt be until the semifinals on Sunday. If both teams reached that point, though, and were to play each another, there wouldnt be a disappointed player on either team.

The two Pennsylvania schools know each other well, many players growing up with one another, going to the same high schools and playing for the same rugby outfits.

And if it so happened that the two schools got the chance to face off, it would be a welcomed event.

The Temple guys are great, Saint said. I know their coaches. All of us know them really well. And if it comes down to a Penn State-Temple game it'll be very interesting, but there would be no bad blood or anything like that. I'd actually be really excited for that.

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