The Texas Rugby Union is holding a Texas Rugby Revival in September.

The Revival will occur in three cities on three different weekends, and is part of a TRU initiative to raise the level of play.

TRU competitions head Ron Watson told RUGBYMag.com that there is concern within Texas that the standard of play has slipped. This has happened, said Watson, because of the loss of a generation of experienced players, many of them foreign-trained.

“We decided that the problem was in the coaching,” said Watson. “Players are only as good as they are coached, and we felt our coaches needed to be coaching at a higher level.”

So in the interests of improving competitions state-wide, Watson got the TRU to fund three coach-the-coaches events.

Running the Revivals are Bob Dwyer, former coach of the Australian national team (including when they won the 1991 World Cup), and a longtime friend of Watson, and Mike Penistone, coach at OMBAC, and before that Elite Player Development Coach at Leicester Tigers.

The sessions are completely free, as they are full-funded by the Texas Rugby Union.

“It’s time to raise the level,” said Watson. “We felt this was the best thing we could do for the level of competition in Texas.”

The first Texas Rugby Revival will be held Sept 10-11 at Bradley Woods Park in Farmers Branch, Tex., just outside Dallas.

The second will be September 13-15 at Burr Field, the home of the Austin Blacks.

The third will be held September 17-18 at Alden Bridge Sports Park in Woodlands, Tex., just outside Houston.

The sessions are open to all rugby players, coaches, and administrators from any level of rugby, men or women. Box lunches available for a small fee.

For further information contact: Ron Watson 817 5998496 or 817 3045551 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

With the National Club 7s Championships done and the All-Star Championships upcoming, USA 7s Head Coach Al Caravelli is feeling somewhat optimistic going into the international 7s season.

Caravelli will be scouting the NASC, which will be held at Chula Vista August 26 (a Friday) and 27. Then he will choose a squad of Possibles and a squad of Probables, and run them through games on Sunday as a tryout.

Overall the coach said he was pleased with the standard of play at the National Championships. He said the players looked much fitter than they did earlier in the summer, and the skill level, overall, was improved over last year.

That being said, some teams were more equal than others. Belmont Shore, Utah, Schuylkill River and others showed some very strong 7s play; others did not.

And several players had their names written down.

“We have competition for places, absolutely,” Caravelli told RUGBYMag.com. “Overall I was pleasantly surprised with the level of play and what we’ve got going into the All Star Championships. Overall we will have a more competitive environment.”

Caravelli has had some input in the All-Star teams. He’s asked coaches to consider players who could play for the national team, which means reducing those not eligible or too old to really be considered. It’s up to the coaches, said Caravelli, but they know what his needs are.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the next tournament for the USA is the Pan-Am Games, and they use a different eligibility measurement than the IRB. Chiefly, you can’t qualify for a national team just on residency. You need to hold a US passport. As a result, for example, Marco Barnard will not be eligible for the Pan-Ams.

Who will be considered? The following is purely our own speculation and received no input from Caravelli. So we may well be flat wrong.

But these are the players we think have a really good shot at national team consideration, and we expect several more to emerge later this month.

Forwards:
Greg Ambrogi
Garrett Bender
Mark Bokhoven
Nate Brakely
Ryan Chapman
Mile Craigwell
Cam Dolan (possibly at World Cup)
Matt Hawkins (injured?)
Colin Hawley (possibly at World Cup)
Nick Johnson (not the USA play Nic, but from YoungBloodz)
Nu’u Punimata
Blaine Scully (likely going to World Cup)
Zack Test (possibly at World Cup)

Backs
Justin Boyd
JP Eloff
Tai Enosa (possibly at World Cup)
Paul Emerick (likely at World Cup)
Nese Malifa (likely at World Cup)
Rocco Mauer
Ben Nicholls
Don Pati (injured?)
Mile Pulu
Alex Ross
Apelu Sooalu
Roland Suniula
Shalom Suniula
Peter Tiberio
Dusen Umeda
Maka Unufe
Malakai Vaka