1981 National Rugby Championships
The 1981 National Rugby Championships were a series of tournaments organized to determine a national champion in several divisions for United States rugby teams. The divisions included Men's/Women's Club, college, Military, Sevens, and Interterritorial.
| 1981 National Rugby Championships | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Tournament format(s) | Various |
| Date | 1981 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Final | |
Men's Club
The 1981 National Club Rugby Championship was sponsored by Michelob and took place in Dayton, Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from May 9–10.[1] The teams featured in the tournament were the champions of the four sub unions of USARFU. The Berkeley Old Blues won the title defeating Old Blues of New York in the final 9–3.[2]
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||
| Old Blues (CA) | 17 | |||||
| May 10 – Dayton, OH | ||||||
| Denver Barbarians | 3 | |||||
| Old Blues (CA) | 9 | |||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||
| Old Blues (NY) | 3 | |||||
| Old Blues (NY) | 23 | |||||
| Minneapolis | 8 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| May 10 – Dayton, OH | ||||||
| Denver | ||||||
| Minneapolis | ||||||
Women's Club
The 1981 Women's National Rugby Championship was a 16 team tournament that took place on May 23–25 in Oak Brook, IL.[3] The Belmont Shores team of Long Beach, CA won the championship with a 7–6 win over Beantown of Boston, MA.[4]
College
The 1981 College championship was won by University of California at Berkeley. Harvard was runner-up.
Military
The 1981 Combined Services Rugby Championship took place in Dayton, Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from May 9–10 and was won by the Wright Patterson Jets with a 7–3 win over Camp Pendleton.[5]
Sevens
The 1981 National Sevens Rugby Tournament was hosted by the Hartford Wanderers and took place on June 20, 1981, at Sterling Field in West Hartford, Connecticut.[6] The tournament was won by the Hartford Wanderers for the first time.[7]
- West Hartford Wanderers 30-16 University of Rhode Island alumni (Final)
ITT
The Inter Territorial Tournament involved the four regional rugby unions comprising the United States RFU: Pacific Coast RFU, Western RFU, Midwest RFU, and the Eastern Rugby Union. The region teams are formed from selected players from the sub regional rugby unions. Subsequently, the USA Eagles are selected from the four regional teams after the ITT concludes. The 1981 edition was played at the Oak Brook Sports Core in Oak Brook, Illinois from May 23–25.[8] The Pacific Coast RFU repeated as tournament champions.[9]
Results:
- Pacific 11-10 Eastern
- Midwest 9-24 Eastern
- Western 4-35 Eastern
- Midwest 29-9 Western
- Midwest 6-31 Pacific
- Pacific 27-6 Western
| Team | W | L | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific Coast Grizzlies | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Eastern Colonials | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Midwest Thunderbirds | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Western Mustangs | 0 | 3 |
High School
The 1981 National High School Rugby Championship took place in Dayton, Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from May 9–10.[10] Redwood High of Larkspur, CA became the first champions after a 6–3 victory over Seneca Valley of Maryland.[11]
- First round: Seneca Valley W-L Cincinnati Indian Hills
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Redwood | W | |||||||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Cincinnati Elder | L | |||||||||
| Redwood | 11 | |||||||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Langley | 9 | |||||||||
| Langley | W | |||||||||
| May 10 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Centerville B | L | |||||||||
| Redwood | 6 | |||||||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Seneca Valley | 3 | |||||||||
| Seneca Valley | W | |||||||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Cincinnati St. Xavier | L | |||||||||
| Seneca Valley | 22 | |||||||||
| May 9 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Webster Grove | 0 | Third place | ||||||||
| Webster Grove | W | |||||||||
| May 10 – Dayton, OH | ||||||||||
| Centerville A | L | |||||||||
| Langley | ||||||||||
| Webster Grove | ||||||||||
Champions: Redwood High
Coach: David Kirschoff
Roster: Colin Cole, Brian Muller, John Flowers, Jeff Davis, Elliot Morshead, Steve Fentress, Benny Thio, Mitch Halston, Barry Grove, Greg Merriman, Greg Behrendt, Robert Salaber, Robert Forstner, Nick Stoll, Duncan Green, Phil Aufricht, Eric Goodfield, Mike Jackson, Bud Riley, Steve Havernass, Sean Silvera, Pat Farley, John Weisberg, Mike King, David Flowers.
References
- Ridenour, Marla (May 10, 1981). "It's Rugby; Pass The Beer". Dayton Daily Times, p.1-C col.2-3
- "Cal, Blues Take Rugby Titles Again". (May 11, 1981). The Independent & Gazette, p.15 col.5
- Kiley, Mike (May 24, 1981). "Rugby Not So Foreign, After All". Chicago Tribune, sec.4 p.2
- "Women Take To Rugby Field". (May 28, 1981). The Daily Herald, sec.1 p.6
- Carlson, Kenneth N. (February 1984). "National Championships". Rugby Football Scorebook (1st ed.). Lynwood, WA: Rain Belt Inc. p. 6. ISBN 0-938428-04-7.
- "Rugby Tournament Scheduled For Today". (June 20, 1981). Hartford Courant, p.C3 col.6
- Paterno, Karen (June 21, 1981). "They're After Top Quality Rugby". Hartford Courant, p.D8
- "Rugby Trials". (May 23, 1981). The Daily Herald, sec.2 p.4 col.7
- Carlson, Kenneth N. (February 1984). Rugby Football Scorebook (1st ed.). Lynwood, WA: Rain Belt Inc. pp. 63–68. ISBN 0-938428-04-7.
- "Scoreboard". (May 10, 1981). Dayton Daily News, p.3-C col.1-2
- Stroble, Zan (May 11, 1981). "Waterlogged Coach Keys Wright-Pat Rugby Win". Journal Herald, p.7
