It took eight years, but Denver 7s Selects returned to the top of RugbyTown 7s mountain to claim their first Cup Final since 2016 and their third overall.
The eventual Cup Champions finished pool play with a 1-2-1 record In perhaps the oddest route to a Cup Final in the history of the RugbyTown 7s but played their best rugby when it counted. With everything on the line, they knocked off a tough Ramblin’ Jesters team in the semifinals and ultimately beat a dangerous Tsunami Wave Wearerers team that had only lost one match up until the Cup Final
In the Cup Final, Denver 7s Selects jumped out to a quick 14-0 first-half lead over the Tsunami Wave Wearers and kept the pressure on with a Nick Feakes try right at the halftime buzzer to take a commanding 19-0 lead into the break. Denver 7s picked up right where they left off in the second half when a long run by Aki Raymond turned into a penalty try and a Tsunami yellow card. With a 26-0 lead in hand, it was Denver 7s’ match to lose. Tsunami got on the board with a Matthias Douglas try and quick conversion, but there was not enough time to dig themselves out of a deep hole. Campbell Johnstone scored an insurance try in the corner to put the match on ice and secure a 3-17 victory.
The Third Place final was a slugfest between two experienced RugbyTown 7s teams in Casanovas and the Ramblin’ Jesters. It was Casanovas who struck first with an early try, but the Ramblin’ Jesters responded with three straight tries to take the lead and never looked back. Casanovas closed the gap with tries from Line Latu, Anthony Rice, and Danny Christensen but it was too late to mount a comeback. The Ramblin’ Jesters defeated Casanovas 28-26 to take home third place for the second consecutive year.
This year’s Plate Final was a rematch of the 2023 RugbyTown 7s Cup Final as NAV 7s and USA U23s locked horns in what turned out to be an instant classic. USA U23s got off to a dream start as they scored on the initial kickoff, but NAV 7s wasn’t going to go down without a fight. They scored two unanswered tries to take a 12-5 lead heading into the half. The USA U23s struck first in the second half to even things up at 12 points apiece, but NAV 7s responded with a try of their own to retake the lead and put the pressure back on USA U23s. That pressure proved to be no problem, as Peter Sio Jr. responded by turning on his burners to score a long try late in the match to knot things back up at 19-19 and force overtime. In overtime, NAV 7s wing Vuiviwa Naduvalo scored his tournament-leading 12th try to exact their revenge over the USA U23s with a 24-19 victory.
The Bowl Final between newcomers in Assassins 7s and RugbyTown 7s mainstays in SoCal Griffins was one for the books. Both teams had slow starts to the tournament. SoCal Griffins started 0-2 while Assassins 7s started 0-3, and then neither team lost again on their way to the Bowl Final. When the dust settled, it was Assassins 7s that defeated the SoCal Griffins 19-12 in what was a knock-down-drag-out fight to take home the 2024 RugbyTown 7s Bowl in their first tournament appearance.
Gorilla Rugby defeated the U.K. Armed Forces 12-10 in the Shield Final to take home their first piece of silverware after three years of competing at the RugbyTown 7s. After taking a 5-0 lead into the halftime break, Gorilla Rugby was able to punch in a second-half try to take advantage of a short-handed U.K. Armed Forces team following a yellow card to give the Texas-based side some breathing room to lock up the RugbyTown 7s Shield. Things got interesting at the end, though as the U.K. Armed Forces scored two late tries to make Gorilla Rugby sweat. U.K. Armed Forces couldn’t connect on the final conversion, though, and Gorilla Rugby left with the victory.
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