UT Longhorns win Fiesta 7s!

The Texas Rugby team won the Fiesta Sevens tournament in Alamo City in April… it was dry and dusty, but good rugby!

The Longhorns defeated UTSA 28-14 in an excellent final, and produced some exciting rugby throughout the day. Several players stood-out for the UT team, and this was a fantastic opportunity for the young side to have valuable match practice ahead of the CRC 7s tournament.

Julien du Castel (Assistant Coach) was on hand to help the Horns raise the trophy: “This type of tournament is really valuable for our development. We were able to get a lot of our young players good amounts of game time against physical and athletic teams who played some different styles of play. And I thought the boys played very well, applying a lot of defensive pressure and working our offensive pattern.”

Fiesta 7s Results
Game 1: UT 12 SFA 5
Game 2: UT 56 St. Mary’s (TX) 0
Game 3: UT 29 UTSA 7
Game 4: UT 33 San Antonio Motley 0
Final: UT 28 UTSA 14

The UT squad for Fiesta 7s:
Tod Mullen (Captain), Noah Villalobos, Alexis Mendoza, Creighton Bundy, Mark Boraski, Gilbert Perales, Scott Lynch, Harry Carrothers, Colin Ferguson, Will Dinnin, Brandon Barnes

Earlier this month the Longhorns played local rivals Texas A&M – opting for a 7s match instead of their regular XVs encounter – helping UT get ready for the CRC 7s. While this encounter was a hard fought 20-minute match, it was another great opportunity for the UT side to test itself against a solid outfit. The Longhorns rested four of their starters, in order to have those players fresh for the collegiate event.

The Aggies played extremely well and won the match 26-5.

“Both sides played high level sevens but credit goes to A&M for the victory. Coach Coates, Coach Smith, and Dave McPhail did a great job prepping their boys on short notice. “ said UT coach Jacob Liberman.

“I for one was excited to coach in the first meaningful sevens match between our programs. It may be the first collegiate sevens one-off in US rugby history and hopefully a sign of things to come. Texas and A&M are rivals on the pitch but we’re committed partners in advancing collegiate sevens off the field as well. A&M has several All-Americans who have been invited to recent Eagles 7s camps. They’re as good as anyone we will face in the CRC. Now we understand the level we have to reach come June.” Explained the Longhorn coach.

The University of Texas at Austin (UT) will be using the month of April and May to prepare for the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7s event in Philadelphia, PA. The Horns will be boosted by the technical insight of former US Eagle 7s veteran Dallen Stanford, who will join the coaching staff in early May.

This prestigious CRC tournament will take place on June 4/5 and will be broadcast nationally in the United States.