South Carolina earns bid to Penn Mutual CRC

South Carolina played textbook sevens and held firm on defense for the entire day to claim the 2017 Southeastern Olympic Rugby Championship.  With the win the Gamecocks earn the SCRC bid to the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia.

Coach Steve Darnell’s boys controlled the pace and possession in every game on their way to the championship.  In the final USC jumped to a two try lead only to have UK knot the score just before the half.  The Gamecocks flexed their muscles to begin the second half and finished with a 26-12 victory and the conference championship.  

South Carolina now joins Tennessee in competing in the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia in June while Kentucky and Alabama both have their sites set on the USA Rugby National Championship Tournament set for May 19-21 in Glendale, Colorado.

Results of Pool Play

South Carolina	33	Mississippi State	0
Georgia	0	Alabama	37
Tennessee	12	Auburn	10
Kentucky	32	Mississippi	7
South Carolina	40	Georgia	0
Alabama	31	Mississippi State	5
Tennessee	0	Kentucky	17
Mississippi	17	Auburn	29
South Carolina	24	Alabama	5
Georgia	24	Mississippi State	33
Tennessee	35	Mississippi	5
Kentucky	29	Auburn	0

Playoffs

Bowl Semifinal
Mississippi State	26	Mississippi	19
Georgia	14	Auburn	10
Cup Semifinal
South Carolina	32	Tennessee	0
Alabama	15	Kentucky	19
Shield Championship / 7th
Mississippi	19	Auburn	17
Bowl Championship / 5th
Mississippi State	24	Georgia	14
Plate Championship / 3rd
Alabama	21	Tennessee	7
Cup Championship / Final
South Carolina	26	Kentucky	12

Final Rankings

1. South Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. Alabama
4. Tennessee
5. Mississippi State
6. Georgia
7. Ole Miss
8. Auburn

All Conference Team

Barnes, Sean	South Carolina
Butler, Logan	Kentucky
Coar, Thomas	South Carolina
DeBoy, Brett	South Carolina
Deppeerschmidt, Ross	Alabama
Fromm, Ethan	Georgia
Guisasola, Iggy	Alabama
Harrell, Christian	South Carolina
Lackovic, Jacob	Ole Miss
Leadingham, CJ	Kentucky
Massengill, Cameron	Mississippi State
Roberts, Kerry	Tennessee
Sietz, Thomas	Auburn
Suber, Shaq	Kentucky
Vickers, Travis	Tennessee

8 teams compete for the Penn Mutual CRC Bid on Saturday

Eight Southeastern Conference schools compete on Saturday for the Southeastern Collegiate Olympic Rugby Championship in Knoxville.  The victor also earns an invite to the 2017 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship held in Philadelphia in June along with a possible bid to the USA Rugby National Championship Tournament.

South Carolina enters the championship event as a decided favorite having overwhelmed the competition in the lone qualifying event held in Columbia on April 01.

1 South Carolina
2 Tennessee
3 Kentucky
4 Georgia
5 Alabama
6 Ole Miss
7 Auburn
8 Mississippi State

The first game of the day kicks off at 9 AM and the Championship is slated for 5 PM.  This year the championship is hosted by the University of Tennessee at the Tennessee Rugby Park in Knoxville.

Tennessee Rugby Park
8051 Oak Ridge Highway
Knoxville, Tennessee

The event will be streamed by Purple Moose Media so check by just prior to the event for details on viewing if you can’t make it to Knoxville to see it live.  Updates will also be posted throughout the day on Twitter at @SCRCRugby.