(Milwaukee, WI) - Despite making up just 14% of the participants, rugby teams from Minnesota dominated a full 50% of the championships at the Lakefront 7s Rugby Festival with Wisconsin-based teams finishing runner-up in 5 of the 6 finals.
The Lakefront 7s has been organized continuously for the since 1982 by the Milwaukee Barbarians Athletic Club and the West Side Harlequins. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the event, the Rugby Gods blessed Milwaukee with perfect weather and pitch conditions, a smooth event, and lots of exciting rugby.
For the first time the event’s history, every championship match was recorded and can be watched below.
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Men’s Elite Division
In the Men’s Elite bracket, Metropolis (Minneapolis, MN) defeated Savage Nation (Milwaukee, WI) 29-12 in a fast-paced final. Metropolis was well-disciplined and showed good stamina following a narrow 19-17 win over Savage Nation in an earlier pool-stage match.
Women’s Open Division
In the Women’s Open Bracket, the Youngbloodz (Minneapolis, MN) met perennial tournament favorites T.I.T.S. (Milwaukee, WI). The Milwaukee side was starved for possession but made the most of their opportunities and scored twice. Despite the effort and good defense, Youngbloodz made few errors and scored 3 tries of their own to win 21-12.
Men’s Open Divisions
In the morning Men’s Open bracket, the Krakens (Lake Michigan, IN) put in a comprehensive display on both sides of the ball and cruised to a 24 - 7 victory over Viejos Leones (Chicago, IL).
The afternoon Men’s Open bracket was much closer with Wisconsin Rugby Club (Madison, WI) scoring 3 tries. However, the Swords (Chicago, IL) dotted down one more try and kicked a few extra conversions to capture the championship with a 28-17 victory.
High School Girls Divisions
The High School Girls final was a defensive battle with only a conversion kick separating the two teams. The Hawkettes (Des Moines, IA) met the Wisconsin All-Stars in the pairing. The final score was the lowest combined total of all the championships with the Hawkettes on top 14-12.
High School Boys
For the High School Boys the Wildcats (Eagan, MN) dominated their opponents most of the day. Despite allowing two tries, they put on an offensive masterclass to defeat the Red Dogs (De Pere, WI) 36 - 14 in yet another Minnesota-Wisconsin matchup.
