The first day of the 2024 RugbyTown 7s came and went, with a shot at $10,000 and the cup title still in play for several familiar teams and a few newcomers.
In Pool A, All-Army began their quest for their tenth U.S. Armed Forces Championship by finishing the day in first place with an unblemished 3-0 record. Despite an undefeated Friday, it didn’t come without a scare. Department of the Air Force had All-Army on the ropes in each team’s second match. All-Army had to dig deep in their bag to punch in a try after the final whistle and escape with a 19-17 victory. Coast Guard finds themselves hot on the Army’s heels after piecing together an impressive 2-1 record by securing wins over All Marine Rugby 7s and All Navy Rugby. Coast Guard will get a crack at the nine-time U.S. Armed Forces champions in Army on Saturday. Department of the Air Force, who finished the day with a 1-1 record, will be a team to watch on Saturday. All Navy Rugby finished the day 1-2 with All Marine Rugby 7s still searching for their first win on Day 2.
The Tsunami Wave Wearers used a 43-7 victory over Misfits, a 21-12 victory over the U.K. Armed Forces, and a narrow 31-26 victory over Gorilla Rugby to advance to Day 2 with a 3-0 record and the top spot in Pool B. The Ramblin’ Jester - who are no stranger to success at the RugbyTown 7s - once again proved that they will be a tough out. They’ll head into Day 2 with a 2-0 record, but not after a little bit of a scare from Gorilla Rugby in their second match of the day. Speaking of Gorilla Rugby, the Texas side finished Friday with a 1-2 record after a win over the U.K. Armed Forces and two close losses. U.K. Armed Forces also finished with a 1-2 record with a victory over Misfits, while Misfits finished the day 0-3.
In Pool C, NAV 7s - the 2023 RugbyTown 7s runner-ups - finished Day 1 with a 3-0 record. They used double-digit victories over strong Apache 7s and Lions 7s sides, but went down to the wire in a narrow 21-19 win over Denver 7s Selects. Lions 7s improved to 2-1 on the day after defeating Apache 7s 14-7 in Friday’s penultimate match. Denver 7s finished with a 1-2 record with both of their losses coming by a combined eight total points. Apache 7s also finished with a 1-2 record, narrowly escaping with a win over SoCal Griffins in their second match of the day. SoCal Griffins find themselves in an unfamiliar position at the bottom of Pool C with a 0-2 record but have two more chances to make up for their slow Day 1 on Saturday.
The defending RugbyTown 7s Cup Champions picked up right where they left off on Friday. USA U23s finished the day 3-0 in a grueling Pool D. Both Wild Dogs and Casanovas put together impressive 2-1 records, while Assassins may have finished Friday winless but pushed USA U23s to the brink in Day 1’s final match. Tel Aviv Heat also did not find their way to a win on Friday but will have two more cracks at it on Saturday.
Saturday at Infinity Park brings 21 more high-flying rugby sevens matches as the tournament moves from pool play to the playoff stages. The U.S. Armed Forces Championship will take place at 3:50 PM MT followed by the Fallen Rugger Remembrance Ceremony at 4:25 PM. Fans in attendance will be treated to an appearance from the Air Force’s Wings of Blue skydiving into the stadium. Single-day tickets are $15, and weekend passes are $30. You can purchase tickets and stream all of the action on RugbyTownUSA.com.
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