Rugby 'Battle of the Southside' Comes to Virginia Beach Sportsplex
On Saturday morning, April 30, two local high school boy’s rugby teams will meet at Virginia Beach’s premiere sports facility for what is being called the “Battle of the Southside”—an exciting display of rugby skill and rivalry just before the start of the ACRC7s college rugby tournament.
Virginia Beach High School Rugby vs Norfolk High School Rugby takes place Saturday morning at 8am at the Sportsplex, and it’s worth getting up for.
“This is Norfolk's first year, thus it’s the first actual rugby match between two south side high schools— the Battle of the Southside!” says Virginia Beach Rugby Football Club coach Mike Starling.
Starling started the Virginia Beach High School RFC in 2010 after discovering there were few local options for boys interested in playing rugby. Since its founding the club, affectionately called "The Beach," has been successful in planting the seed of interest in the game among local youth.
“Norfolk City HS club is a city wide club like ours, spawned from their men's club, the Norfolk City Blues,” Starling explains. “This is their first year. When we officially jointed the league in 2014, one of our goals was to see the very active Norfolk Mens/Womens and old boys grow a youth program. I believe we at least contributed to that.”
Virginia Beach High School RFC Players have come from the following Virginia Beach high schools: Bayside, Cape Henry Collegiate, Cox, Kellam, Kempsville, Landstown, Princess Anne, Ocean Lakes, Renaissance; as well as Hickory from Chesapeake; Norfolk Academy and Lake Taylor in Norfolk.
Alumni of The Beach play or have played at Radford, WVU, Ga Tech, George Mason University, Embry Riddle University (AZ), University of Mary Washington, James Madison University, Virginia Tech, Washington and Lee University, American International College, with one on rugby scholarship; as well as several men's teams.
Catch some Great Rugby
Come out to the Sportsplex for the Virginia Beach vs Norfolk match at 8 a.m. and stick around for the very best in collegiate rugby as URugby-VIrginia Beach featuring the ACRC7s gets underway at 10 a.m. Teams competing on Saturday include Old Dominion, Hampton Heat, James Madison, US Naval Academy, Penn State and Delaware.
Or, watch all the action online.
