The Boys High School Rugby National Championships are almost upon us, so let's look at how the top single-school teams are faring across the country before heading to Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, MO, on May 17-19.

2018 Boys HS Rugby National Championships

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Brownsburg (IN)

How's the season going? Could be better. It's always difficult to play in the Indiana Super League, and so you can't really judge a team by wins and losses. But victories have been hard to come by for Brownsburg.

Fishers (IN)

How's the season going? Pretty well. Fishers thumped Brownsburg and also beat Notre Dame de la Salette. The Indiana natives now have their sights set on in-state rival Royal Irish.

Gonzaga (DC)

How's the season going? Normally. As usual Gonzaga schedules really tough early opponents, loses to at least one, goes on tour where it gets sorely tested, and comes back to play some more difficult opponents. This team is so deep it can afford to play league games in the middle, often while resting regular starters. But at the end, the Eagles could be the best in the country. They're usually close to it.

Greenwich (CT)

How's the season going? Not bad at all. A loss to Xavier (NY) this past weekend was a tough one to take, but it's always a close game. Greenwich has been right there pushing the best in the nation but hasn't quite leaped over to be among them.

Herriman (Utah)

How's the season going? Excellently. Herriman hasn't lost and has beaten pretty much every strong team in Utah and also Kahuku, the feared Hawaiian champion, last week. Right now the Mustangs are ranked No. 1 in the country. That might not be true come Nationals time, but they are strong.

Jesuit Sacramento (CA)

How's the season going? Fine, now. After some shaky results, including a loss to Danville (CA) and a loss to St. Edward (Ohio), the defending national single-school champion Marauders have picked up their performances and now are set to face Danville again in the Rugby NorCal final.

Penn (IN)

How's the season going? Up and down. This is a relatively young Penn squad and might be a team to watch out for next year. Still, Penn can bring it and has an opportunity to make a statement at this week's Midwest playoffs.

St. Edward (Ohio)

How's the season going? Superbly. St. Edward beat Jesuit and St. Ignatius, both of whom were ranked No. 2 at the time. St. Ed's stood No. 1 until it lost to Gonzaga. Still, one through 15, this is one of the best St. Edward teams we've seen.

St. Thomas Aquinas (KS)

How's the season going? This is a solid Aquinas team and probably about as good as the squad that won Tier 2 in 2017. Is this year's group better than that? It's been hard to say. A tough but useful tour of the Northeast has Aquinas moving in the right direction.

Wando (SC)

How's the season going? Dominant in South Carolina, Wando had designs on a Mid-South Independent Rugby League final appearance but lost in OT to South Greenville. Still, this is certainly one of the very best teams in the South.

Xavier (NY)

How's the season going? All talk about Xavier being young and maybe a year away is mostly baloney. Yes, Xavier graduated some serious talent, including quite possibly the best freshman college rugby player for this season, Connor Buckley. But the young guys learn fast and have beaten Greenwich, Aquinas, and Oakhill from Australia and tied Fort Hunt (VA).

What About The Seeding?

The seeding for this tournament is done by committee, with the top eight going to the Tier 1 championship and the remaining four competing with four from the club bracket for the Tier 2 title. Normally, the argument isn't about who will be eighth but more about who will be sixth. The No. 5 seed and No. 4 seed are basically interchangeable—they play each other on the first day and the winner is in the semis.

For the No. 6 seed, now you've got a game against one of the top three, any one of which is probably good enough to be No. 1. 

Our take? Gonzaga, Jesuit, St. Edward, Xavier, and Herriman—throw a blanket over them and pull one out, that could be your national champion. And you'd be leaving some very strong teams out if you did that.

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