2017 Texas High School Rugby Championships

Woodlands, Harlequins Colts To Texas High School Final

Report on the 2017 Texas HS Boys Rugby semis, with Woodlands vs. Cy Fair and Westlake vs. Dallas Harlequins Colts.

May 6, 2017 by Alex Goff

Woodlands, Harlequins Colts To Texas High School Final

The Dallas Harlequins Colts will meet The Woodlands in Sunday's Texas High School Rugby Championship final after both won dramatic semifinals on Saturday.

The games were live-streamed by FloRugby.com and will be available on-demand later today. Go here.

The Woodlands had all sorts of problems with Cy Fair and its big, powerful forwards. The Warriors' impressive pace out wide meant Cy Fair was never far from scoring. The teams traded tries early, with the Warriors scoring from essentially their own tryline with a kick and chase from the outside backs that outstripped the Woodlands defense. That tied the game at 12-12.

In the second half, Woodlands opted to spread the ball a bit more and made some tactical subs. That worked well enough, and with two tries to Cy Fair's one the Highlanders led 22-19. But Cy Fair came back with a big break and then picked up and surged on from the ruck. The third pick-and-go resulted in a try and a 24-22 lead for the Highlanders.

Woodlands head coach Phil Beck said he wanted his team to spread the ball more and not get tied up in contact. That wasn't easy to do as Cy Fair came up quickly. But when the Highlanders did get the ball to the likes of flyhalf Kieran Farmer, they were able to gain big clumps of territory.

"I thought Cy Fair would be harder than any other team we've played - and we haven't played the Colts yet," Beck said. "They are well coached and have a ton of talent."

With time up on the clock, Woodlands was down 24-22. But the Highlanders had one more shot, spun it wide, and wing Matthew Myers went in at the corner. That was enough, and Woodlands won 29-24.

In the second semifinal, the Dallas Harlequins Colts continued their excellent run of form. With No. 8 Jordan Wander a force on offense and the entire pack pushing Westlake back in the scrums, the Colts kept Westlake on the back foot for a good portion of the game.

Under pressure, Westlake made uncharacteristic mistakes and missed touch at key moments. The teams were tied 10-10 in the first half, but the Colts scored twice to lead 20-10. A nicely taken try from Westlake made it 20-17. But with time winding down, Wander thundered over to seal it 27-17.