No one escapes the rough and tumble that is rugby. (Photo by Brian Mengini)
It’s called seven-a-side rugby, with seven players instead of the standard 15.
But don’t let anyone fool you. It doesn’t matter whether seven guys are on the field or 15 … this game is hard-hitting and just a little nuts.
We had a chance to see rugby sevens up close and personal recently when the Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship came to town. (Specifically: The Philadelphia Union stadium in Chester).
All of it was fun to watch, but still, upstanding Irish persons that we are, we just had to take in a game featuring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
We’re happy to report that they kicked the hind ends off the team from Boston College, 30 to zip.
That sent the Fighting Irish on to games with Navy, Utah, Ohio, and Dartmouth (see scores below).
- NOTRE DAME- 28 V OHIO STATE – 7
- NOTRE DAME -19 V DARTMOUTH – 24
- NOTRE DAME -17 V UTAH – 21
- NOTRE DAME-12 V NAVY -10
In the final challenger match, Louisiana State University beat ND 24 to 0.
Ultimate winner though: Dartmouth. They brought back the trophy.
The Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championships were televised on NBC. This is the first time they were held in the Philadelphia area.
We can’t match NBC’s coverage. (After all, they just spilled $2.201 billion for the rights to broadcast the Oympics. They’re in a league of their own. Most of the time, we have beer money and, if we’re lucky, enough left over for a bag of chips.) That said, we can still bring some of the excitement to you courtesy of our very talented photographer Brian Mengini.
