Boys U19 Champion: Louisiana
Boys U19 Runner-Up: Eastern Rockies
Less than a year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged their lives, rendered many of their families homeless and scattered them across the country to live with family and friends, the Louisiana U-19 Boys All-Star rugby reunited and made their way to Colorado to compete in the Rocky Mountain Challenge - America's Premier U-19 rugby tournament where they were honored as "Comeback Team of the Year" at the tournament's banquet.
Less than 24 hours after that, they were crowned tournament champions.
In what could be called a real life "Cinderella story," what seemed impossible for this small but mighty team of high-school-aged ruggers quickly became reality as they battled against 13 other teams that represented the best of the best of under-19 rugby talent in the US. The Louisiana team was paired against the ERRFU (Eastern Rockies) U-19 in the tournament's championship game. The match was well-played and remainded scoreless until the last 5 minutes of the game. After an inspiring and direct half-time speech from their coach, it was apparent that this team that lost so much last year, had a lot to gain this year - and gain they did with their guts, talent, blood and sweat until the final game whistle was blown. And they won.
Tournament organizer Bruce Koranski commented that the win for Louisiana was well deserved and earned. He indicated that the Louisiana team and coaches exhibited extreme sportsmanship and lived up to rugby's highly competitive reputation. Louisiana not only showed up...they showed up to win.
In it's 5 years of existence, the Rocky Mountain Challenge U-19 Tournament has established itself as the premier youth (U-19 - under 19) rugby tournament in the United States. The goal of the tournament has remained a constant - to generate increased intereste in U-19 rugby, to provide opportunities for national-level competition among youth rugby players and to serve as a venue to identify national U-19 team candidates. This tournament has been deemed, by past participants and coaches, the highest visibility tournament of its nature in the United States.
Boys U19 Runner-Up: Eastern Rockies
Less than a year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged their lives, rendered many of their families homeless and scattered them across the country to live with family and friends, the Louisiana U-19 Boys All-Star rugby reunited and made their way to Colorado to compete in the Rocky Mountain Challenge - America's Premier U-19 rugby tournament where they were honored as "Comeback Team of the Year" at the tournament's banquet.
Less than 24 hours after that, they were crowned tournament champions.
In what could be called a real life "Cinderella story," what seemed impossible for this small but mighty team of high-school-aged ruggers quickly became reality as they battled against 13 other teams that represented the best of the best of under-19 rugby talent in the US. The Louisiana team was paired against the ERRFU (Eastern Rockies) U-19 in the tournament's championship game. The match was well-played and remainded scoreless until the last 5 minutes of the game. After an inspiring and direct half-time speech from their coach, it was apparent that this team that lost so much last year, had a lot to gain this year - and gain they did with their guts, talent, blood and sweat until the final game whistle was blown. And they won.
Tournament organizer Bruce Koranski commented that the win for Louisiana was well deserved and earned. He indicated that the Louisiana team and coaches exhibited extreme sportsmanship and lived up to rugby's highly competitive reputation. Louisiana not only showed up...they showed up to win.
In it's 5 years of existence, the Rocky Mountain Challenge U-19 Tournament has established itself as the premier youth (U-19 - under 19) rugby tournament in the United States. The goal of the tournament has remained a constant - to generate increased intereste in U-19 rugby, to provide opportunities for national-level competition among youth rugby players and to serve as a venue to identify national U-19 team candidates. This tournament has been deemed, by past participants and coaches, the highest visibility tournament of its nature in the United States.