Schuylkill River has won the Eastern Super Qualifier in men's club 7s rugby, defeating Old Blue in a tight tournament in the Philadelphia area.

Schuylkill almost didn't make it out of pool play. The club was involved in a three-way tie with Dallas (last year's Eastern Super Qualifier winner) and Washington. All three teams were 2-1, and points difference had to decide the top two. 

Dallas was the odd team out and Schuylkill and Washington made it to the semis. Washington, which has recruited some good talent for the summer, continues to show improvement.

In the other side of the bracket, Old Blue edged Beltway to win the pool. Old Blue and Schuylkill River won their semis, and then Schuylkill held off Old Blue 19-14 in the final.

The kickoff for the final was delayed some hours because of lightning, but finally it relented, and a decision to hold the final on Sunday was reversed, allowing the game to be played Saturday night.

The victory is huge for Schuylkill River, as the club started poorly in the MAC Sevens Series, and was in danger of not qualifying. One of the reasons for that was NAV 7s. The National Athlete Village 7s team is a solid contender but was not able to be in the Super Qualifier because a club has to be in competition for three seasons to be eligible to compete in a Super Qualifier.

This is NAV's 2nd season on the field.

Schuylkill River, then, has booked a spot at the USA Rugby National Club 7s in Kansas City, which will be shown live on FloRugby August 10-11.