Champions were named and hearts were broken in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday. The 2018 Great Northwest Challenge ended with some controversy, but what matters most is that players from across the region got a chance to showcase their talent and develop their skills against quality opponents.

Watch Games On-Demand

High school club rugby is often top heavy, so much so that skilled players often don’t face truly competitive opponents. The Regional Cup Tournaments fill that void, and when players have true rugby vision and IQ it shines on the all-star stage. FloRugby live-streamed all the action on three of the seven pitches and saw a handful of players stand out from the rest.

Girls Tier 1 

No. 8 Addie Horsley and center Delaney Rakuita dominated both days for the Utah Cannibals. They led a talented Utah Cannibals side to a Tier 1 title. The Cannibals hung an average of 40 points on all their opponents, a majority of the tries came from the Horsley-to-Rakuita tandem.

The scrappiest player of the tournament award goes to Aniya Matina. She wore the No. 4 jersey and was the smallest lock on the field each game. However, her tackling ability was some of the best in the tournament. She had no fear of taking on much larger players.

Boys Tier 1

With eight-plus yellow cards and one red card over the two-day tournament, the immensely talented Washington Loggers cost themselves an RCT victory. FloRugby predicted Mo Vea and Alex Cleary would lead the team, but with Vea seeing red in the semifinal and sitting out the final, he cost himself and his team valuable showcase time. Cleary tried to leave his footprint on the final but was largely overshadowed as the Loggers played with 13 men for 10-15 minutes.

Often at RCTs, the biggest and fastest guys make the highlights, but the brother tandem on both sides of the final was the storyline to follow. Kyle and Ethan Van Tonder of Evolution combined for all of the points for Evolution in its victory. 

Meanwhile, Karl and Killian Keane at scrumhalf and flyhalf for Washington were both excellent distributors and tactical kickers. The younger VanTonder played scrumhalf throughout the tournament, but the coaches decided to make a change going into the final. At his new position on the wing, Ethan called for the ball from his brother and each time the duo linked up Ethan found himself scoring a try. The three-try hat-trick was enough to bring home the Tier 1 regional cup victory.

Girls Tier 2

The Oregon Redhawks boasted the most dominant program of the weekend. Both their girls teams reached their respective finals, with the Redhawk Tier 2 side taking home first place. At one point in the match, their opponents lost several players to injury and the Redhawks graciously gave up a few of their athletes. 

The display goes to show that the Oregon coaches realize the point of these tournaments. It is not entirely about winning but instead about getting the players on the field against good opposition.

Boys Tier 2

This is where the heartbreak lies. Rhinos Rugby Academy put together a solid lead and was clearly the dominant team on the day. Yet Toa Rugby out of Idaho hung around by slotting three penalty kicks. 

The referee warned the Rhinos sideline to keep its players in check. The Rhinos saw offside penalty after offside penalty. After a halftime warning, the yellow cards began to be issued. At one point, the Rhinos were playing down two men and one of the cards was given to a player for cursing at the referee. 

With no time left, the referee gave Toa one more play and it took advantage. Rhinos Rugby Academy was livid and pleaded its case with the referee, but he had had enough of the Rhinos' backchat. Toa put an extra-time try under the post and walked away champions on their home field while Rhinos Rugby walked away heartbroken.