Another summer 7s campaign has come to a close following the Gratis 7s in Savannah, GA, and both the men’s and women’s teams had strong showings.
The women’s team battled to a 3rd place finish as the co-hosts of the tournament against some stiff competition. Congratulations to the women’s champion Emory who brought a strong side for a newly formed rugby team. Charleston’s women came in second with the Savannah women coming in just behind them. Georgia Southern and Columbia rounded out the women’s bracket with a lot of very close and competitive games.
The men’s team was coming off another successful tournament in Chattanooga where they lost only one game, coming up short in the semi-final to the eventual champions. They carried that momentum into Gratis and went undefeated in pool play earning the #1 seed. However, they came up short in the Final against a very good Charleston team. 3rd/4th place finishers were Valdosta State and Columbia, respectively.
Once again Gratis was a big success and it helped to raise over $1200 in food/cash for the local Second Harvest Food Bank here in Savannah. It’s amazing what a bunch of ruggers can do when they come together for a good cause and forgo the normal entry fees charged at 7s tournaments. A very big thank you goes out to those individuals who volunteered as referees who helped keep this tournament free of charge to all the participants.
