At The Top

A Clear Favorite

Doylestown has continued to play with dominance. After Rugby Showcase South they traveled to Portugal (placing 2nd) in an incredibly competitive event that pulls teams from across the globe, returned home to ensure they are the top seed in both their state and the EGRL with a lopsided win over Downingtown (who has beaten just about everyone else) and kept the streak alive with a second win at the Gonzaga tourney in two years, giving up only a handful of points in the process. They are the clear #1 on the East Coast, and (we think) could contend for a national championship. Unfortunately we'll never know on that as [steps onto soapbox] the lack of a unified national competitive schedule means "states" and "nationals" fall on the same weekend in many places - including Pennsylvania. 

Doylestown remains at 1 and the margin is growing.

Contenders

This is where the action has been. The squads from Raleigh, NC (RedHawks, Cobras) are readying for a state playoff battle which may also settle the EGRL Southern Division. Cobras came in as the favorite but after a 26-all draw on March 28th with RedHawks, it's anyone's game. In the North, Downingtown (of PA) has done what it takes to lock in a playoff berth by notching wins over Aspetuck, Morris and Play Rugby USA. Their only blemish is a loss to Doylestown.

For their part, Aspetuck has shown strength with wins over Morris, the RedHawks (at Gonzaga) and most recently Connecticut state rival Greenwich (who hasn't lost otherwise) but struggled to gain any traction against the 2 PA Powers, conceding two losses there.  They'll certainly be hoping for another shot at Downingtown in the EGRL playoffs as they were working through some roster issues during that meeting on April 19th, but it's too early to tell if they'll get it. 

Also in the conversation at this point are NorthBay+VOC who continues to show moments of power (including a win over RedHawks at Gonzaga) as well as Greenwich HS who has both run the table in Connecticut state play and snagged a preseason win against Morris. They struggled against Aspetuck in their friendly last weekend. 

Charlotte Cardinals and Morris of NJ, both perennial top 10 programs are finding their way through rebuilding and continue to put in the work. They are showing improvement game by game. Charlotte got the best of two "one score" games against Morris at Gonzaga, who closed the gap considerably in their second meeting against Aspetuck to a razor thin 2 points....don't sleep on either of these squads.

Rounding out the top 10 is Moon Area HS of PA. After NC-Ruggerfest, they've notched wins over Orchard Park and City Honors (both of Western NY), losing to Highland of Ohio in a 5-0 defeat as part of regular season PA State competition. They enter the PA playoffs this weekend as the 3rd seed and will play Downingtown, which will be a good test of their resolve and our rankings logic. For now, we have them at 10.

The next wave are: 

Downingtown 2, Aspetuck 3, Cobras 4, North Bay+VOC 5, RedHawks 6, Cardinals 7, Greenwich 8, Morris 9, Moon Area 10.

Ups and Downs

The next wave is significantly harder to pin down. On the pitch the Hough Huskies appear next in line in the Carolinas after the squads from Raleigh and Charlotte, while Cumberland Valley HS is the 4th seed in PA. Further North and as the 4th in a division that includes 3 of the top 10, Play Rugby USA is better than their record suggests and should be in the conversation. In New York state, Orchard Park and City Honors played on April 20th but we don't have a result so are unsure who gets the clear edge there. Corning is scheduled to play both in the coming 2 weeks, but, along with other EC peers like West Carroll and Wando, theirs is a young roster that is focusing on fundamentals. Finally, worthy of a hat-tip, we will include the SC Barbarians and the NOVA Vipers. They both struggled at Gonzaga, but they showed up and stepped into the arena. The steep road to the top begins with 1 step - kudos.

11-20 includes (alphabetically): Chapel Hill, City Honors, Corning, Cumberland Valley, Hough, NOVA Vipers, Play Rugby USA, SC Barbarians, Wando, West Carroll

Next Up

States (next few weekends), Nationals (17-19th of May) and Rugby Showcase East on the weekend of June 6th will provide the final details on how things shake out in 2026. Good Luck to all teams! 

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Who'd We Miss?

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