On Saturday, June 17th 2017, the Monmouth Rugby Football Club hosted 2017 Monmouth 7s: Showdown at the Shore V Tournament at Thompson Park in Lincroft, New Jersey, sponsored by Ritchie and Page Distributors. With a full day of rugby, featuring 47 playing sides and over 500 athletes, Monmouth 7s kicked off both the USA Rugby Northeast Qualifier Series and Empire 7s Series for Men, Women, and HS Boys and girls.  Some wet weather didn’t slow the action as each bracket featured top level competition.

In the NRU field, Old Blue, NYAC, and Mystic River raced to the top of their respective pools, earning Old Blue and NYAC a bye into the cup semifinals.  However, NYAC fought their way past a tough Bulldog 2 side and then edged out a hard fought victory over Mystic to reach the Cup final.  However they were not match for a dominant Old Blue side which cruised past Bulldog in the semis and had a commanding 33-0 victory over NYAC to earn the cup.  Mystic rebounded to take the Plate final over Bulldog.
On the Empire side, a highly competitive Men’s bracket saw tough competition all day, yet it was Princeton Athletic Club coming out on top with a 19-14 victory over hosts Monmouth in a Cup final that saw 2 lead changes and came down to the final seconds.  New Haven came away with the Plate and the East Lake Erie Hawaiians took the Bowl.
For the women, it was all NYRC who did not surrender a point in a perfect 5-0 day, capped by a 26-0 victory over the Village Lions.  Old Blue took the plate and Morris went home with the Bowl.  In High school action, Play Rugby Academy was the big winner, taking the Cup in both the Boy’s and Girl’s brackets.
Finally, in the Social brackets, which saw a mix of young developing talent and nearly old boys looking to make one last run, the Dutchman, a mix of Monmouth Rugby alums took home the Cup after finishing 5-0 on the day.  NYRC added a second Cup trophy with a victory over Suffolk in the Women’s Social bracket.

Next up for the NRU Series is Newport 7s while the Empire Series moves up to Tri-State 7s in Danbury. Thank you to all of our participants and our sponsors – Ritchie and Page Distributors, US Marine Corp Recruiting Station, Two River Community Bank, and Broege, Neumann, Fischer & Shaver, LLC.  See you next year!

NRU Qualifier
Cup Champion: Old Blue
Cup Runner Up: NYAC
Plate Champion: Mystic
Plate Runner Up: Bulldog
Bowl Champion: Bulldog 2
Bowl Runner Up: White Plains
Shield Champion: Long Island
Shield Runner Up: Old Blue 2
Shield Runner Up: Lions

Empire Series – Men
Cup Champion Princeton
Cup Runner Up Monmouth
Plate Champion New Haven
Plate Runner Up Morris
Bowl Champion East Lake Erie Hawaiians
Bowl Runner Up Danbury
7th Place: Brooklyn
8th Place: NYRCEmpire Series – Women
Cup Champion: NYRC
Cup Runner Up: Village Lions
Plate Champion: Old Blue 1
Plate Runner Up: Monmouth
Bowl Champion: Morris
Bowl Runner Up: Old Blue 2
7th Place: Danbury
8th Place: NYRC 2

Empire HS Boys
Cup Champion: Play Rugby
Cup Runner Up: Aspetuk Valley
Plate Champion: NYRC
Plate Runner Up: Play Rugby 2

Empire HS Girls
Cup Champion: Play Rugby
Plate Champion: NYRCSocial – Men
Cup Champion: Dutchman
Cup Runner Up: Fairfield Yankees
Plate Champion: Long Island
Plate Runner Up: Union
Bowl Champion: Blackthorn
Bowl Runner Up: Rutgers
7th Place: Monmouth 2
8th Place: NJST

Social Women
Cup Champion: NYRC
Cup Runner Up: Suffolk
Plate Champion: Albany
Plate Runner Up: Union
Bowl Champion: Morris
Bowl Runner Up: Monmouth