Sevens Series Kick into High Gear

With rugby's return to the Olympics on the horizon, sevens rugby continues to pick up steam among college conferences eager to capitalize on the increased interest in the sport. This spring sees the return of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League (ACRL) Sevens Series and the debut of the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) Sevens Series. The SCRC is focusing on sevens rugby during its spring season for the first time in conference history.

With two major East Coast sevens tournaments coming up in April—the URugby Sevens Challenge Cup in Philadelphia and URugby Sevens Virginia Beach Featuring the ACRC7s—and many teams gearing up for the CRCs in May, sevens rugby has never been as competitive on the college level as it is right now.

SCRC Sevens Series: Fierce Rivalries

The SCRC Spring Sevens Series kicks off this Saturday, March 21, in Gainesville, Fla. as traditional SEC rivals look to settle scores on the pitch. South Carolina, with victories over NC State and Virginia Tech already under its belt, faces off against Tennessee in pool play Saturday morning. In their last meeting, the Volunteers edged past USC to earn the top seed in the SCRC fall finals, only to fall to Alabama in the semis and watch from the sidelines as the Gamecocks were crowned SCRC champions... only one of many inter-conference dramas bringing extra excitement to this tournament.

ACRL Sevens Come to Raleigh

NC State hosts the second installment of the Atlantic Coast Rugby League sevens series this Saturday in Raleigh. Joining the fun will be Kutztown and Ohio State, two rugby powerhouses sure to test the skills of the traditional schools of the ACC. With programs like Clemson—victors in the Palmetto Bowl against USC at last fall's ACRC Bowl Series in Charlotte—eager to prove themselves against the best of DI (the Tigers hope to redeem a tough loss against Ohio State in the finals of the Feb. 28 ACRL tourney), expect some hard-fought contests on Tobacco Row.

Follow the Action on URugby »

The URugby website will feature up-to-the-minute news on the SCRC Gainesville Sevens and the ACRL Raleigh Sevens via the Twitter feeds of participating teams. These are available to view during the day Saturday on URugby's SCRC Sevens Series- Gainesville and ACRL Sevens Series- Raleigh tournament pages, where you'll also find information about participating teams, and Instagram photos and videos.