By Austin Willis

USA Rugby's annual slate of five Regional Cup Tournaments (RCTs) kicks off this weekend in Denver as the Rocky Mountain Challenge pits the best high school rugby players in the region against each other.

Normally these tournaments run in mid- to late June, but scheduling issues forced the 2018 RMC to push its start date to this Saturday. The two-day event will feature boys and girls all-star teams from Texas, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

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

This tournament allows these high school players to showcase their skills in front of both college and All-American coaches. 

The HS teams will also have a chance to watch the USA Men’s Eagles take on Russia on Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the same venue as the high school competition—albeit the high schoolers are on satellite fields.

Playing in Denver will be a challenge for some because of the altitude. That's true even for the internationals, as USA MNT captain Blaine Scully explained.

“You can feel it in your lungs right away, altitude is a challenge,” he said.

The favorite in the boys varsity bracket is Texas, as the state-model team pulls from 20-plus high school programs. However, Team 5785 is the program that will likely walk away with the most overall trophies. Team 5785 deviates from the traditional state model, and while based out of Colorado, it is able to draw from neighboring states to combine talents and mold teams in a short time frame. Team 5785 has five teams in the tournament at every level of the boys and girls competition. 

“While winning is always a goal of ours our main goal is to elevate these players and give them the exposure to continue their game at the next level,” said Team 5785 founder and director Amy Rusert.

Arizona and Wisconsin have been strong in the past, and while Utah's programs tend to split, no one should look past the Beehive State team.

By Sunday, five champions will be named: Boys Tier 1, Boys Tier 2, Girls Tier 1, Girls Tier 2, and Boys Middle School. Tier 1 is for U18 players and Tier 2 is for U16, with rules allowing talented younger players to move up.