written by Vincent McLeod IV
(Photo: Alex Ross of Belmont scores a try against OMBAC; courtesy of McLeod Sports)
To the teams of Belmont Shores and OMBAC, the 2011 7's can be written as a huge success. They have both qualified for Nationals this weekend in San Francisco.
To other teams, the season leaves members in more wonderment then anything. How can teams like Santa Monica, under the direction of Tommy Smith, not produce the results needed? How can talented teams in the San Pedro and greater Los Angeles areas not prove to be quality contenders in 7's Rugby throughout the Southern California area?
One cannot take away the fact that Belmont Shores has had an explosive season this 2011. The adminstration and coaching staff at Belmont has put together a team that should end up in the Finals this weekend without putting forth little effort. OMBAC, they have a bit of a tougher road in their Pool for Nationals, but have loaded up their team with current SDSU talent and possess committed players. Both teams should be credited for their efforts outright.
This then brings us back to our initial concern, where are the others? Southern California seems to be the only region that plays individual tournaments, with two lone qualifiers before the National Championship of 7s weekend begins. Does this force teams to wait until the end of July to get serious about 7's Rugby? If this is to be the case, then would it not hurt a team to play small tourney's in preparation with the fear of injury plaguing the teams? Of course it would. The system established right now rewards those teams that stack up their talent until the end of the season.
Is this really legitimate one could ask? In a playoff-like structure, you really just have to be mediocre until the time is right to get into the final playoff position. Just ask the MLS' LA Galaxy in 2010!!! They win the Supporters Shield and crash out of the playoffs while FC Dallas, a mid table team, takes it all the way to the MLS Finals with the Colorado Rapids, who are in the same boat all season. Why does the EPL play a points based system? They play it because it works and rewards quality play throughout the specified season. Even turning back to Rugby, the JP Morgan Premiership 7's series does not have one event, they have multiple pool dates leading up to the finals at Twickenham.
With all of the questions floating and circulating, would a series of 7's Rugby in Southern California be ideal? Would 7's programs begin to flourish instead of pulling good 15s players into playing something that in no other Tier 1 nation would they ever play?
Developing a circuit of 7's Rugby would be the most ideal move the area could take to gain more exposure and recruit players into the mix. Why not have a Premier and a Social bracket? All of the obvious signs point to having one circuit, but in the end, how does one find it best to sell the option to the SCRFU, who has for years now been keen on these little "small" weekends. If Rugby (all aspects of the game) is to grow in the future, we have to get serious about the quality of the structure of Rugby.
National Championship Brackets (August 6-7)
Pool D Schuylkill River(Mid Atlantic #1)
OMBAC (SoCal #2)
YoungBloodz(Midwest #2)
Denver Barbarians(West #2)
Pool B New Orleans(South #2)
Boston(Northeast #1)
Hawaii Select (Hawaii #1)
Belmont Shore(SoCal #1)
No comments:
Post a Comment