Ten of the very best select sevens teams in North America converge on Orlando, FL this weekend for the Tropical 7s, and it’s a test where no team, player, or coach can take anything for granted.

Watch The Entire Boys NAHS Bracket LIVE on FloRugby at the Tropical 7s April 19-20

Pool A

Upright

Atlantis

Rebels

Arizona Bobcats

Kahuku

Upright has a well-coached squad mostly out of Ontario with a few Canadian kids from further afield. Six of the players are Ontario provincial players in sevens, and four have played for the Canada U18s. 

Atlantis often draws players from Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic states, but this Tropical 7s team is from all over. Elijah Billups is an outstanding talent out of Play Rugby in New York City. His pace and ability to see space makes him a player to watch. 

Two somewhat local players, Lewis Gray of the Jupiter Sharks and Angus Kelly of Key Biscayne—both big bodies who can raise the physicality level—augment a skilled and fairly experienced team. Ryan Neimiller just helped the Clayton Copperheads put in a strong showing at the Gonzaga Classic. He is a long-striding back with a nice sidestep who can also kick on the run.

Sam Bennetta will likely play a lot of halfback. He’s been central to St. Joe’s Prep and their efforts for four years.

Kahuku is more of a single-school team, but the program brings tons of physicality and athleticism. Toalei Lefau is a powerful runner of the ball, and he’s quick, too. Zealand Matagi is also speedy and can finish. Meanwhile, the Rebels, mostly out of Colorado, have expanded their reach to Texas. This will be a bit of a new outing for the group, coached by former Denver Barbarians sevens standout Phil Bolton.

Pool B

Eagle Impact Rugby Academy

Utah Lions

Rock Rugby

USA Rugby South

BC Rugby

British Columbia will hope to celebrate Ciaran Breen as he turns 18 on the opening day of the tournament. Breen has been an excellent big body in BC age-grade rugby. 

Rock Rugby includes hard-charging 15s flanker Tyler Acosta, who will be going to Lindenwood in the fall, and much of the squad has been playing together in 15s and they know each other well.

Eagle Impact Rugby Academy is one of the favored teams, and with Miles McCormick in solid form as a power runner, and players such as Dominic Tianga and Peyton Wall have begun to make names for themselves. The youngest player on the team, Ethan Van Tonder, is a smart playmaker who understands how to exploit space. This is a very talented group.

USA Rugby South includes the very difficult-to-contain Isaiah Rademacher, but we’re still waiting on a few late confirmations on the roster. The South will have the least trouble finding players (as the Tropical 7s is in the South), and the program is continuing to improve in sevens.

And finally, the Utah Lions could well win this pool. Brayden Wilson was a standout for EIRA on their 15s tour of Ireland, while Max Alcalde and Conner Gande have the ability to control possession.

There are no easy games in this pool.

This group represents about 120 of North America’s up-and-coming sevens players, and they are all facing off against each other. Wins will be hard to come by.