South Carolina defeated Queens University Charlotte, a top-tier Division 1 varsity program, 19-17 to win the Gamecock 7s Invitational Tournament Saturday.

Three months ago, Queens advanced to the National Collegiate Rugby 15s D1 finals and finished the season ranked 10 by Goff Rugby Report. The victory avenged a 24-7 loss to Queens February 25 at Southern Virginia University and gives the Gamecocks momentum as they prepare for the Southeastern Rugby Conference 7s Championship Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 1-2.

The Gamecocks dispatched UNC-Wilmington (19-0) and Furman (40-0) before facing a talented University of Georgia squad. The Bulldogs, who logged lopsided victories over Alabama (17-0) and Western Carolina (33-0) tested USC early by taking a 7-5 lead. The Gamecocks put together a string of trys in the second half to put away the Bulldogs 19-7.

Less than 90 minutes later the Gamecocks defeated Georgia in the tournament’s semifinals 12-7 setting up a match-up against Queens, who defeated Lander 36-5 in the other semifinal.

The finals was a back-and-forth affair with each team trading trys. Two Gamecock trys came under the post, which made for easy conversions. While the Gamecocks conceded three tries, USC forced Queens to ground the ball on the fringes of the try zone, which forced difficult conversions and proved the difference.

“On the whole we played very good defense against a very athletic Queens team,” said USC coach John Roberts. “And we showed a lot of grit and speed by chasing down several Queens players after long runs. Our off-loading continued to improve throughout the tournament.”

Clemson, playing without several starters due to spring break, defeated UNC-Wilmington 26-7 in the Bowl Championship. All scores are posted here.

The USC-B-side played well at times but finished 0-3 as the squad was placed in the tournament’s most competitive pool which included, Queens, Lander (a varsity program), and Clemson.

The B-side will face more equitable competition this weekend when they travel to participate in a 7s Tournament at Furman against a field that includes Furman, Western Carolina and Appalachian State.

To date, USC-Aside has compiled a 13-3 7s record.

Photos by Jesse Copeland

The Gamecocks put in a solid performance at the East Coast 7s Tournament in Buena Vista, Virginia February 25, finishing 4-1 while showing flashes of great play.

USC broke out of the gate strong with runaway victories over Queens II 43-0 and Columbia II 40-0. The Gamecocks then bested Virginia Tech, a team that captured the NCR DI-AA national 15s championship in December, 10-5.

Their next opponent, D1-A Queens, kept the Gamecocks on their backfoot for much of the game and fairly coasted to a 24-7 win. Disappointed in the lop-sided loss, USC rebounded for a 21-14 overtime win against the host team, D1-A Southern Virginia 21-14 in the consolation game.

Officially, the Gamecocks finished third in the 12-team tournament. Queens defeated Va. Tech in the finals 22-10.

“There is no shame in losing to Queens,” said Coach John Roberts. “But we failed to play our best game with a chance to go onto the finals. I’m very proud of the way we bounced back to defeat a very physical Southern Virginia team. In all, it was good to play out of region and compete against some D1-A teams.”

The Gamecock B-side was scheduled to participate in the Georgia 7s Invitational. But that competition was cancelled early Saturday morning due to rain.
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The Gamecocks are idle the next two weeks for Spring break. The program hosts the Gamecock Invitational March 18. Both A and B sides will compete.

Photos by Jesse Copeland

The Gamecocks left the Clemson Invitational Tournament Saturday knowing they have much work to do to return to the top 7s form that propelled them to a Southeastern Rugby Conference 7s Championship and a deep run in the play-offs last year.

The round-robin included Clemson and Tennessee, traditional rivals and historically the strongest programs in the 13-team conference. The Gamecocks travelled with more than 30 players and fielded three teams.

USC A finished 2-2, logging wins over Clemson B 15-10, UT B 40-0 before losing games to Clemson A 27-5 and UT A 19-14. After dropping a lopsided 41-0 loss to Clemson A, the USC B side put in two solid games by tying UT A 19-19 and Clemson B 21-21. The Gamecocks had plenty of chances against UT B but fell short 19-14. The Gamecock C side lost a pair of games to Clemson C 17-5 and 31-5.

In all, nearly 30 players saw pitch time Saturday, good news for a program with only three seniors.

“The bad news is that our defense was poor at times, and we lost or tied several games that were within our grasp,” said Coach John Roberts. “The good news is that these games against excellent programs exposed areas that need work. You learn more in defeat than victory.”
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The Gamecocks get back to work this weekend. The A-sided travels to Southern Virginia to take part in a Rugby East Tournament that will include mostly D1A programs. The B-team will travel to Athens to compete in the Georgia Invitational.

South Carolina will head to Clemson this Saturday to participate in round-robin 7s Tournament with Clemson and Tennessee.

Both Clemson and USC will field three teams, The game will be streamed on YouTube and our Facebook page.

​The Clemson pitch is located on Edinburgh Way (Near the Pier) in Seneca.

The complete schedule:
 
10:00
CU A
USC B

10:20
CU B
USC A

10:40
CU C
USC C

11:00
UT A
USC B

11:20
UT B
USC A

11:40
CU B
UT A

12:00
CU A
UT B

12:20
CU C
USC C

12:40
CU B
USC B

1:00
CU A
USC A

1:20
UT B
USC B

1:40
UT A
USC A

2:00
CU B
UT B

2:20
CU A
UT A

South Carolina men’s rugby launched the Spring 7s season in solid fashion Saturday by logging three convincing wins before coming up short in the finals at the Furman Invitational 7s tournament. Here are the scores and quick break down.

USC 33 – Furman 10
The Gamecocks overwhelmed the host-team Paladins with their speed on the perimeter. Trys were scored by Nick DuBois (3), Dan Golden, and Peter Blackburn.

USC 15 – KU 5
Nice win against a very solid conference rival. KU kept it close for a while. But we found room on the edges. Nick Dubois scored all three trys.

USC 22 – Citadel 7
The upstart Cadets managed a 7-5 lead before the Gamecocks got their act together and ran away. Trys were scored by Jack Kelly, Conor Lane, and Nick DuBois (2).

Clemson 17-0
This was a game of halves played with great emotion against our rival. Gamecocks started slow, and Clemson took advantage of take aways to storm to 17-0 halftime lead. USC rallied and played on the Clemson end for much of the second half, but time ran out on our rally. Trys were scored by Jack Chelly and Nick DuBois.

Photos by Jesse Copeland

Coming off a Fall season that saw South Carolina emerge as an elite Division I-AA 15s program, the Gamecocks now wade into the season of 7s, a faster, field-spreading game that is more suitable to team’s physical make-up.

In many ways, last fall was historic for the Gamecocks. For the first time since 2015, USC advanced to the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) Championship game where the team fell short in a thrilling 27-22 contest against Tennessee. The squad also advanced to the 8-team National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) play-offs where they were worn down 27-5 by top-seeded Louisville, a squad that advanced to the NCR finals.

The Gamecocks also placed five members on the SCRC All-Conference team: Grant Howard, Gavin Bennett, Dan Golden, Jack Van Vliet and Nick DuBois. USC finished the fall ranked 7 by NCR.

This Spring, the squad will look to build upon last year’s remarkable 7s season, which saw the Gamecocks capture the SCRC championship and compile a 25-11-1 record, including a 6-3 record in two national championship tournaments.

USC returns much of the 13-man roster that competed in the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 7s Championship Tournament last May. Former Captain John Golden, Grayson Toney and Gavin Bennet have graduated while Callum Shand (an international exchange student) returned to Scotland.

Tom Allison, Dan Golden, Isaac Ambs, Jack Van Vliet, Quinn Lafferty, Grant Howard and Peter Blackburn, who anchored the 7s squad last year, return. Jack McGoldrick, who suffered a broken ankle last Fall, looks to return to play in April.

Veteran players Jack Kelly, Connor Lane, Andrew Reese, Kevin Lacy and newcomers Nick Dubois, Pierson Braddock, Grant Ruhlen, Matt Morrow, Nick Brescio and Jack Chelly (a Scottish flyhalf who missed much of the fall season due to an ankle injury) will provide depth and press for starting time.

While USC lacked the bulkiness that was needed to carry the team deep into the 15s playoffs, the squad is loaded with height and speed, which should pay dividends this Spring.

“We will field a very fast, deep, and talented 7s team,” said Coach John Roberts. “Last year, the season stretched into late May. This year, the season is more compressed as nationals will be held April 29-30. So, it will be important for us to develop cohesion quickly and come out of the blocks strong.”

The Gamecocks will open the 7s campaign February 4 at the Furman University Invitational in Greenville. Belmont Abbey, Citadel, Clemson, Lander, Kentucky, Furman, and Western Carolina will compete. On February 18, USC travels to Clemson where they will take on traditional SCRC powers Kentucky, Tennessee and Clemson.

A big test will also come February 25 when the squad travels to Southern Virginia University to take part in a Big East 7s Tournament that will attract many D-1A programs. South Carolina will host its own 7s tournament March 18. The Citadel, UNC-Wilmington, Belmont Abbey and Guilford will make up that field. The SCRC 7s Championship is scheduled for April 1.

Alec Giakas (left), a 2019 USC graduate who is attending medical school, will return to the coaching staff later this month and will take a leading role in developing the 7s program. Giakas, who turned down Major League Rugby offers to pursue a career in medicine, coached last spring but could not attend tournaments due to academic obligations.
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“Alec is a great tactician, tremendous competitor, and played a huge role in our success last year,” said Roberts. “His schedule is much more flexible this Spring, and we are looking forward to him taking an expanded role with our young men.”