If you haven’t heard, this past Saturday was the 28th Annual Harrisburg Rugby 7s Tournament. Officially, THE BEST 7s RUGBY TOURNAMENT OF THE SUMMER – as voted on by Harrisburg Rugby enthusiasts the world over. Harrisburg 7s 2014 lived up to the hype. We laughed, we cried, things were said, and things were broken in an emotional roller coaster that left both of our A side teams just short of bringing home hardware. Before we get to the recaps, we would like to extend a very special thanks to all members of the HRFC family who helped put together another successful tournament, both behind the scenes and under the tents. Without you, this tournament would not happen – or in the very least it would never be anything other than a bunch of bozos playing with a ball on unlined fields and urinating on themselves. So THANK YOU ALL (insert slow clap).

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Our women had tough slogging all day, as they were once again pooled with the eventual tournament winners, the dreaded Brandywine Riot, and some unforgiving scheduling with which to contend. Highlights of the day included stout defense led by Jordan and Lauren, phenomenal team offense with great support, and the return of Becky (have baby will ruck).

The women started out strong versus an over matched Whitehorse side. Dominating early, as expected, and finishing strong. The unofficial scorecard – as voiced by many spectators – was “a lot to a little”.

The women then went on to face a stubborn Brandywine team, who took advantage of a few missteps from our ladies and won a game that was closer then the score showed. The women had some long breaks from several different players, but unfortunately they could not finish some of the runs. Brandywine walked away hoping not to face the Ladies again.

Despite the loss, our women made the playoffs and had the eye of the tiger when they squared off vs Keystone. The Harlots seemed to get stronger as the match went on. They utilized strong team concepts on defense and multiphase attacks on offense to knock the once mighty Keystone team out of the tournament. In one of the best “coaching moments” of the summer, Lauren had a nice half break, made a well timed pass to support runner Erica (coming from depth with velocity), who took the ball down close to the try line and offloaded the ball back to Lauren, who supported her own pass to score a well deserved 5 points. The play embodied everything the women have been bringing to the table all season. Great teamwork and unselfish play.

Squaring off against Brandywine for the 1,000,000,000th time this season in the semi finals, the women gave the eventual tournament winners all they could handle. This rematch was not what Brandywine expected at all. The women were supporting their breaks and shutting down the bigger women for the ‘Wine. Several lead changes occurred with the match seeming to tilt towards a victory. Alas, a last second try sealed the fate for our battle hardened Harlots. Although the end left a bitter taste, the women played well all day and gained the respect and admiration of the home town fans. Many proclaimed, “wow, they are good!” Such high praise. Great day ladies, but there are still chances to bring home hardware.

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The men looked to build on last week’s strong performance and did not disappoint. Highlights included stifling team defense throughout most of the day, attacking and scoring in a multitude of ways, and never giving up to always finish strong.

The boys started of a little sluggish to say the least against a very stacked Molly’s side – who eventually won it all – but battled back to finish the game strong and start the day rolling.

The men next took on the Allentown Blues, who did not have any answers for what the ‘Burg threw at them. The men dominated in all facets of the game and blanked the Blues with stellar defense and an unrelenting attack.

The next victim was the completely over matched Pecan Sandies, who were a solid team, but they could not over come the ineptitude of their leader (unless he is available for any more tournaments, in which case he was awesome), nor the no-holds-barred attack of our boys. Once again, needing points to solidify a spot in the Plate, the men did not let up on the gas, handily shut out the Sandies, and took the coveted bye in the first round of the plate.

In the playoffs, the men took on the Lancaster Roses and left them feeling less then fresh. After standing up to the initial push of the Roses, who drew first blood, HRFC took control of the match and the roses never again touched pay dirt. The men used every player at it disposal and they all were up to the challenge on the way to a very lopsided rout.

The stage in the finals seemed to be set up to repeat the semis where the men took on a well rested Severn River. The men were down early but rallied to tie the match up. Unfortunately, in the efforts to set up the tying try, the men lost their captain, as Zach went down with a leg injury. The men seemed to be lost at sea for a few minutes losing the ability to tackle or finish on some breaks. But the Men did not quit, became aggressive on defense, and went on the attack. In the end, the Men finished just short of a victory (or tie, no one really knows the final score), but in the process offered up the most exciting game of the day. Way to go guys, lets not sit on our near laurels – lets continue to build. Zach left big shoes to fill, but lets keep building.

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The Men and women also had B side teams in the tournament. Those guys and girls played their butts off and and deserve a big round of applause as well. The men played both B and motley, and cross-rostered on several teams. The women forced a game from a forfeit and helped wear down the competition. Great showing by all.

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Special thanks to all of our Captains, who helped collect money, set lineups, and all around took responsibilities off coach’s plate all day long.

Another successful Harrisburg Rugby 7s Tournaments is in the books. Thank you again to everyone that participated and helped make this year’s tournament such a huge success. A special thank you to The Campbelltown Volunteer Fire Company for allowing us to hold our 7s rugby tournament on their company grounds. Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the fans and spectators who made the journey out to Campbelltown on Saturday to support your – and ultimately our – rugby club. We hope you enjoyed the show!

To view the results of the 28th Annual Harrisburg 7s Rugby Tournament, please CLICK HERE.

To view more pictures from the 28th Annual Harrisburg 7s Rugby Tournament, please CLICK HERE to visit the album on Harrisburg Rugby’s Flickr site.

Now, WHO WANTS A MUSTACHE RIDE?!