2019 USA Rugby Club 7s

Don't Sleep On Atlanta At Club 7s Nationals

Don't Sleep On Atlanta At Club 7s Nationals

Atlanta Old White has quietly swept through its region en route to the national championships in Kansas City

Jul 29, 2019 by Alex Rees
null

Perhaps the best club 7s team nobody is talking about: Atlanta Old White, while the Atlanta Harlequins is a bona fide dark horse in the women's competition.

The men from Georgia have quietly flown under the radar this summer, but don't be fooled; these guys are good. 

Watch The USA Rugby Club 7s National Championships LIVE on FloRugby August 10-11

A host of current and former Life University players, along with some other fine additions have helped bolster a unit that is coming off a run to the Men's D2 National Championship game this year. 


Atlanta has become a hotbed for American rugby. On the men's side there's the Life University undergrad side, back to back D1-A national champions, the Life Men's club, 2019 Men's D1 national champions, and Atlanta Old White, the 2019 Men's D2 national runners up. Oh, and one of the MLR's newest additions, Rugby ATL, which is set to begin its professional campaign in 2020. 

Life Fuels Quins Women 

On the women's side, the Life University undergrads, back to back D1 Elite national runners up, and the Atlanta Harlequins, perennial contenders in the WPL, both serve as pipelines for players looking to develop their game and earn call-ups to the Eagles. 


Captained by Mo Compito and with Chi Chi Chukwueke playing superbly also, the Harlequins are more than just Life light. But they do have Running Eagles head coach Ros Chou coaching them, and alumni Kaitlyn Broughton, Madison Ohmann, and Kim Semiglia are also showing well. 

But it's a well-rounded Harlequins team that won't back down from anyone.

Running Eagles With Old White

In a town ripe with rugby talent, it seems strange that its top 7s team would go about its business largely out of the spotlight, but so it is. This is most likely a by-product of playing in a smaller region against some lesser-known teams. Old White competes in the South Region for 7s qualifying, and have sewn up the region's one and only bid to nationals, going undefeated in the process. 

The squad features some serious talent. George Phelan is a first-team Collegiate All-American, Austin White is USA 7s Falcon, and Daemon Torres is a former USA U-20s All American and current try-scoring machine for Life University. Other players like former Austin Elite center Joedee Reyes, and a pair of Kenyans, Erick Ombasa and Sam Ngethe, also bring a lot of skill and versatility to this Old White unit. 


Also in the mix, and one of the team's primary leaders, is current Life University head coach and former Collegiate All-American Colton Cariaga. 

Asked what it's like playing with his head coach, Daemon Torres says, "Obviously it’s a bit weird playing with Coach Colton but I think he does a good job differentiating his attitude. He knows it’s not a Life team so he’s not acting like it is, but he still expects a certain standard because we are trying to compete for a national title."

Depth, Torres adds, has made a big difference this year as well, "Our trainings are competitive; we have a lot of guys who are good enough to be in the 12 or 13 man roster so trainings are always tough.


"Overall I like the team and I think that if we continue to work hard and push ourselves then we have a real chance at competing for the title."

Don't sleep on these guys, regardless of how they may have performed at nationals a year ago. This is a new outfit that has experienced players who have proven they can perform on the big stage. 

Watch Atlanta Old White live on FloRugby, August 10-11 in Kansas City, to see if they can bring yet another trophy back to the city of Atlanta.