By Austin Willis

The Northeast Regional Cup Tournament is set to showcase how all-star rugby has changed at the high school level as the two-day event kicks off this Saturday in Rahway, NJ.

In the past few years, RCT teams have transitioned from state-based all-star programs to a private select-side format. This trend started out west and has worked its way east. A majority of the RCTs are pitting these select sides against state teams; however, the state-based all-star model lives on in the Northeast. 

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State To Beat

Last year the Northeast RCT did not name a champion. Tournament administrators put the emphasis on showcasing their players and not on crowning a winning team. But there are few states that clearly outperformed at each tier. Rugby Connecticut will once again be the program to beat in this year's competition. 

Last season the Connecticut boys teams went undefeated at both the varsity and JV levels of the tournament. Give credit to the organization of high school rugby competition in the state. In the past few seasons, new teams claim state glory and this season Connecticut sent Aspetuck to the national championship tournament. The more games these high school players can play in their club seasons the more experience they have going into all-star season. 

Battle For New York

Maybe New York would be the team to beat if it could combine forces and compete together, but that wouldn’t be the New York way would it? Upstate New York and Metropolitan New York will likely go head-to-head at some point for in-state bragging rights. Even more impressive is both programs bringing JV squads. 

A few St. Bonaventure commits will be competing in the competition for their respective New York All-Star squads. Rocco Arnold and John Milks will team up in the backline for Upstate and Omar Breedy will try to burn them on the wing with the Metropolitan All-Stars.

NJ Depth

New Jersey deserves a shout-out for the depth of its program. For the last few years, Rugby New Jersey has had the organization and numbers to consistently put out a team at each level of boys and girls competition. We’ve seen dominant teams in RCT competition come and go but teams that consistently put up teams do their players justice by providing them a stage to showcase their skills.

While the select-side model creeps into the RCTs, this may be the last time we see the Northeast’s best compete for state-to-state bragging rights.