SALT LAKE CITY — Rugby Utah announced its finalized 12-man roster to compete at the Elite City 7s Championship later this week.
Rugby Utah’s ODA roster boasts seven local collegiate All-American standouts, five 2014 Elite City 7s veterans, one former USA 7s National Team Member and one former NFL and collegiate football star set to crossover to Rugby 7s for the first time in a competition setting.
“We’ve been through a month-long series of trainings with a wider pool of players here from the state of Utah,” said Kimball Kjar, director and coach of Rugby Utah, the official governing body of the sport in the state and USA Rugby-sanctioned leader of the RU Olympic Development Academy. “The talent level was outstanding and finalizing the 12-man tournament roster was not an easy task.”
The Rugby Utah ODA team will travel to Philadelphia later this week to compete in a final showcase event for players to lay claim to a USA 7s National Team berth in lead up the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
“I am looking forward to returning to Philadelphia to watch Elite City 7s,” Men’s Eagles 7s head coach Mike Friday said in recent USA Rugby press release. “We have already seen some boys put their hands up at [at other tournaments], so we are hoping to find a few more that could work to compete for a place in the squad this coming year, as well as potentially develop to compete in 2017 and 2018, when we will be hosting Rugby World Cup 7s in San Francisco. It’s an exciting time in the game and we need to nurture the energy and talent so we continue to awaken as the sleeping giant.”
Last year saw Seattle 7s win the tournament, and Utah’s finished sixth.
This year’s Elite City 7s tournament will be hosted in conjunction with the USA vs. London Harlequins Rugby World Cup warm-up match at PPL Park.
Leading Rugby Utah’s ODA team will be a Rugby 7s veteran and Collegiate All American from the University of Utah, Danny Christensen.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity,” said the newly appointed ODA captain Christensen, “The group has been really working hard, and I look forward to seeing how we do in Philly.”
Other notable members of the 12-man touring roster include BYU All-American and former USA High School All American captain Calvin Whiting, former NFL and collegiate football standout Vic So’oto and former USA National Team member Jason Pye, who played both 15s and 7s at the international level.
In total, 10 of the 12 players selected to represent the state at the Elite City 7s Championship have their roots in the game at the youth, high school and collegiate levels of the game here in Utah.
Elite City 7s pool play begins early on Saturday and culminates Sunday.
RUGBY UTAH OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY TEAM
For the Elite City 7s Assembly (August 29-30)
- Robert Ah Sue, Park City Haggis
- Josh Anderson, Brigham Young University
- Danny Christensen, University of Utah ©
- Chad Gough, University of Utah
- Austin Griffin, Unaffiliated
- Jason Pye, Unaffiliated
- Gabe Ruflin, University of Utah
- Kevin Schofield, Brigham Young University
- Vic So’oto, Unaffiliated
- Will Taylor, Unaffiliated
- Taylor Thomas, University of Utah
- Calvin Whiting, Brigham Young University
- Coaches: Head Coach Kimball Kjar; Assistants: Steve St. Pierre, Nu’u Punimata
- Trainer: Keighly Richardson
- Manager: Ken Rivera
About Rugby Utah:Rugby Utah is the official Recognized Geographic Rugby Organization for USA Rugby and is focused on aggregating the strengths of rugby in the state of Utah from the youth to the elite levels. With the goal of unifying rugby within the state while also developing commercial interests to build the country’s finest training facilities, promote the most elite rugby events and to develop the rugby lifestyles brands necessary to strengthen America’s rugby culture.
For more information, visit RugbyUtah.com or follow on Facebook (/RugbyUtah) and Twitter (@RugbyUtah).