Tornado Alley 7's Results

The West Sevens Club competition concluded this weekend in Norman, OK. The record heat was replaced with warm temperatures, low humidity and a steady breeze all day in what proved to be a great day of rugby for all the participants. The tourney consisted of a four team high school bracket along with six social sides combining with 4 western qualifying clubs.

The top four seeded qualifying clubs in attendance were the Denver Barbarians, Fort Worth Elite “Grey”, Fort Worth Elite “Black” and KC United. During the course of the day, most all of the higher seeds held form and won their matches accordingly. Surprises from pool play in the “A” bracket were a late entry from the Dallas Harlequins and their defeat of the higher ranked KC United squad.

In the “B” bracket, the Elite Black took revenge (35-5) from their prior loss in Denver to the Elite Grey squad. The match was one sided from the first minute with two quick try’s from the Blacks defensive pressure leading to Grey turnovers and eventual scores in side their own 22 meter.

The semi-finals drew #1 seed Denver Barbarians against the #2 seed Elite Grey. Once again, the Grey was unable to put in their tackles and hold off the defensive pressure of their opponents. However, the Grey was able to fight back with some long periods of possession and scoring opportunities but was unable to get over the line against a stingy Barbarian defense.

The second semi-final was between the Elite Black and the Dallas Harlequins. The Harlequins brought a mixed side of veteran leadership and inexperienced youth. The mix was not enough to stop the Elite Black onslaught. The Elite squad was growing in confidence after every match and was firing on all cylinders by now and was playing their best rugby of the summer. Final score 40-10.

The final was a rematch of the first super regional event in Austin, one that saw the Barbarians out class the Elite squad in all phases. However, the Elite squad was confident and looking for revenge. The game was intense and saw the Elite take a slim 7-5 lead at halftime. Both teams looked to be “out on their feet” due to the pace of the match. The match was certain to
turn on whoever made the first meaningful error in the match. That error came in the 19th minute when the Barbarians took advantage of an Elite knock on. The ensuing scrummage left open a large blindside on the right hand side. The Denver flyhalf took the outlet pass and raced into the corner for the go ahead Try and the 7-10 lead.

The Elite took the kick-off deep in their own territory and relied on Jeff Reuther (tourney most valuable player) to find a gap in the Denver defense and make a break at his own 22M line up the middle. The Denver pursuit was almost certain to stop him at their own 10 meter line when Reuther was able to find his winger who finished of the move and sealed the match for a
dramatic, come from behind victory (14-10).

Entering the Tourney, the Barbarians had all ready assured themselves the number one seed from the WRFU based on their prior two wins in Austin and Denver. The Elite Black and Elite Grey will be the 2nd and 3rd place finishers within the West and will take the corresponding WRFU seeds at the USA Sevens Club Championships.

Finally, “Thank You’s” are in order for hosts Jon Velie and Larry Naifeh for a well run event (and perfect weather), the Referee Society for their greatly appreciated services and last but not least all the players/coaches within the WRFU for making this yet another successful and exciting competition.

David McPhail
WRFU Sevens Director

*sidenote: Thanks to Holly Iker and the OU Roses for helping run the tournament also.

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