Rock Rugby Academy out of Texas will shake things up a little at the North American Invitational 7s by putting out a Boys U18 Elite team that many will need to keep an eye on during the August 4-5 tournament in Salt Lake City.

Program director Paul McCartney spoke at length with FloRugby's Alex Goff at the FloSports studio, and outlined how he wanted to emulate the storied Atlantis program (for which McCartney played) in providing high-level rugby opportunities in perhaps underserved regions.



McCartney also said he is bringing in some Utah talent to augment his Texas players. With one Utah team already in the Boys U18 Elite (the Utah Lions Academy), other Utah-based players are looking for a shot, and they include four FloRugby Hot List players from United -- props Billy Tenney and Josh Howden, outside back Eli Pulu, and all-everything standout Bailey Wilson. Those players should join nicely with Robert Jones and Cole Zeno, two talented players who have been with the Rock Rugby 15s and sevens program since its inception.

"They understand my system, and they're pretty big kids," McCartney said. "They have an impact when they're on the field. We've got a couple other kids from the area who are new to this kind of competition."

The Texas players will train with the Utah players before the tournament, and leadership will be crucial. Wilson, who plays No. 8 for United but could be a prop or center in sevens, is going to be named the captain of the team in part because he has captained United and the Utah Cannibals and shown his ability to bring a team together.



"The biggest thing in sevens is getting players to get to know each other and have some trust and confidence in each other," McCartney said.

Rock has made the top four of major competitions at the Collegiate Rugby Championship high school competition and the Las Vegas Invitational. But the standard keeps getting higher.

"I would like to see us compete, but the truth is, I don't know," McCartney said. "But if we can get a couple of victories under our belt for Friday, that will serve us well for Saturday.

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