Here in Louisiana, we have a number of teams that compete at the club, college and high school level. Though we might not be able to see these teams play head to head, we wanted to give an idea of how we feel teams stack up against each other. That being said, here is the first ever, Louisiana State Rugby Rankings.
CLUB RANKINGS – 9/23/2013
Men’s
1. New Orleans Rugby Club – Division 1 – (Texas Rugby Union)
New Orleans is coming off of a 3rd place finish from last year. They have moved into the Texas Rugby Union, where they will be increasing the competition levels. Though they won’t be playing Life University as their regular matrix schedule, they will have plenty to deal with against teams like the Austin Huns, Dallas Harlequins and Dallas Reds. Three teams that were part of the Division 1 Club Round of 32. They bring back most of their team. We expect them to continue to thrive in this new division
Next Matrix Match – November 23, 2013 – vs. Dallas Reds, (@Dallas Reds)
2. Shreveport Rugby Club – Division 2 – (Texas Rugby Union)
Shreveport Rugby only had two losses on the season last year, and barely missed the playoffs for Division 2. They are a solid team in the Texas Rugby Union. As they add more to their roster from their newly revamped Louisiana Tech team, they can only continue to build upon an already tough Texas Rugby Union schedule.
Next Matrix Match – January 11, 2014 – vs. Oklahoma City (@Oklahoma City)
3. Baton Rouge Rugby Club – Division 2 – (True South Rugby Union)
Baton Rouge is coming off a transitional season last year. They will be entering into a new the newly created True South Rugby Union. With a new season entering with the addition of many new players at key positions, Baton Rouge Rugby hopes to take this Matrix season by storm.
Next Matrix Match – October 12, 2013 – vs. Knoxville, (@Knoxville)
4. New Orleans Rugby Club – Division 2 – (Texas Rugby Union)
New Orleans Rugby Division 2 Rugby clubs matrix season last year was effected by the usage of players for their division 1 team. They will be entering into the Texas Rugby Union following the same schedule as their division 1 team. With a much more manageable schedule in association with their division 1 team, they should be able to be much more competitive than they were last year.
Next Matrix Match – November 23, 2013 – vs Dallas Reds, (@Dallas Reds)
5. Lakeshore Rugby Club – Division 3 – (N/A)
Lakeshore Rugby is the newest minted rugby club in Louisiana. Even though they will not be competing officially in a matrix schedule until next year, they have a lot of up and coming players. They have been playing in the Summer 7’s circuit for the last 4 years, so they have built their foundation from their 7’s team. They should be able to take this season to schedule games against other division 3 teams so that they can build more and more experience for this young team.
Next Match – September 28, 2013 – vs Gulfcoast Mississippi, (@Gulf Coast Mississippi)
Women’s
1. Louisiana Lagniappe – Division 2 – (True South Rugby Union)
This is the combination of the Baton Rouge Women’s Rugby team and the New Orleans Women’s Rugby team. Despite individually struggling with numbers, they should make for a competitive combo team. They have strong leaders from both sides to be able to hold their own against their competition
Next Matrix Match – September 28, 2013 – vs. Nashville (@Baton Rouge)
COLLEGE RANKINGS – 9/23/2013
1. LSU – D-1AA – (Southeastern Rugby Conference)
2. Loyola – Division 3 – (Deep South Rugby Conference)
3. University of Louisiana Lafayette – Division 2 – (Deep South Rugby Union)
4. Tulane – Division 2 – (Deep South Rugby Union)
5. Louisiana Tech – Division 2 – (Deep South Rugby Union)
6. Southeastern University – Division 3 – (N/A)