SOUTHERN PINES, NC – After a hard fought weekend at the National Athletic Village in Southern Pines, North Carolina the Carolinas Geographic Rugby Union has crowned champions in Women’s Division II and Men’s Division III.
In Women’s Division II, the Charlotte RFC repeated as CGRU Champs with two dominating wins. Charlotte outscored their opponents 128-12 over the weekend. They opened up with Eno River in the semifinals and won easily 73-7. They followed by beating Augusta 55-5 soundly in the Championship match to claim another CGRU title.
In the Men’s Division III bracket Southern Pines pulled off their second consecutive CGRU Division III title. In the semifinals Southern Pines was lined up against previously undefeated Greenville. Trailing 7-3 with less than 20 minutes to play, Southern Pines finished strong and advanced to the Championship game with a 29-7 win.
In the other semifinal matchup, Chapel Hill downed Charleston 29-10 in another hard fought and entertaining match.
The Championship was a rematch of last year’s DIII title game between Chapel Hill and Southern Pines. As expected, it was everyone one could hope for in a championship tilt. After a hard fought first half, Chapel Hill took a slim 14-8 lead into halftime. Just as with their semifinal match, it was another 2nd half charge by Southern Pines that decided the match as they claimed another CGRU title with a 25-14 win.
“I witnessed two really great rugby games in Southern Pines,” said CGRU President Simone Bontly on the Championship matches. “I’m very excited to see how far the game has progressed in our Union and cannot wait to see more! Congratulations to Southern Pines men and Charlotte women on their CGRU Championships. I’d also like to thank the NAV and Belinda for use of their ultra nice facilities, the Southeastern Rugby Referee Sociaety and Kurt Weaver for an outstanding job. Thanks most of all to the teams for participating!”
The Championships by Charlotte Women and Southern Pines Men sends both teams to the South Championships on May 5-6th hosted by the Florida Rugby Union. With their second place finish at the CGRU Championships the Augusta Women will also represent the CGRU in the Women’s DII bracket at the South Championship.
The Carolinas Geographic Rugby Union would like to thank all of our clubs and players for a wonderful 2016/2017 season. With a number of new initiatives in the works, the CGRU is taking aggressive approach to improving our union and making it one of the best places to play rugby in the USA.
LINK: http://carolinasgurugby.com/carolinas-crowns-champions/