By Austin Willis

It seems fitting that the premier college rugby team in the South would host the South Regional Cup Tournament of high school all-stars, and so Life University, coming off a Men's D1A National Championship thrashing of Cal, will now be able to sit on its throne in Marietta, GA, and scout the best high school rugby players in the region next weekend.

On June 22-24, boys high school players from across seven states will go head-to-head in three tiers of competition at the South RCT, with most coming from the South but Colorado is also making a trip.

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Great Northwest Challenge (June 22-23) | Midwest RCT (June 23-24)

The Favorite

North Carolina enters as the favorite, as the program's varsity and JV squads swept the tournament last year. Many players will be returning with tournament experience and another high school season under their belts. Last season the NC All-Stars were coached by Frank McKinney, who now is a full-time coach with Queens University in Charlotte. McKinney believed, "The key was that we started in January," so the tournament favorite will have to bring the same level of chemistry as last season if it hopes to accomplish another competition sweep. 

Keep Your Mind On Georgia

Georgia did not put up a Tier 1 team last season but they will this year. Georgia has a history of winning the South RCT and they will be playing in their backyard with the comfort of their own homes to return to at the end of the day. 

The Odd Man Out

OK, so Colorado is not in the South. But Rugby Colorado will be competing in the Tier 2 competition and it could be one of the most interesting storylines of the RCT. There is always some regional bias in trying to figure out which region boasts the best rugby players and rarely do we get to see a team cross over into an extremely distant region. While Colorado won’t be competing against the South’s best, it will be a fun matchup to follow.