Men’s Division 3 – January 2025 Recap

Welcome to the USA Club Rugby Monthly Recaps! Organized by division, this is your one stop shop to find out everything that’s been going on in club rugby around the country.

I want to set a few expectations before we kick off; all of this data is gathered from club-entered scores in RugbyXplorer. So if anything is missing or wrong or doesn’t make sense, you should first check RugbyXplorer and then check with your local Geographical Union to ensure that they have finalized all matches in the system. Any other commentary is added purely for entertainment value from someone who has zero stake in the outcomes of these matches. It’s just for fun!

These recaps are for competitions that lead directly into the Super Regional Qualifiers and then into the Club National Championships. Hopefully with time we will add additional regional divisions, but first things first.

This recap is intended to be for the month of January, but since many competitions started or even finished in the fall, I had to go back in time and sum up everything that happened then; so some of these are a bit detailed.

All of that said and done – let’s dive into what happened in January in the Men’s Division 3 competitions!

Two weekends of games this month saw nine of twelve teams take the pitch. Baracus and the SF Fog lead the way at 2-0. Baracus didn’t allow a point in their first two matches against Mendocino (0-2)  and Chico (0-1). Silicon Valley (1-1) smashed Berkeley (0-2), but then lost by 30 to Reno (1-0). Also 1-1 are the Fresno Golden Dogs who had a bad loss to Marin (1-0) but made up for it with a bonus point win over Mendocino. San Joaquin, San Jose and the San Francisco Golden Gate have yet to kick off their seasons. More action to come in February for this league!

Up in the Pacific Northwest, the season got underway in the fall, but comes back in February, which is good because there is still a lot at stake for these clubs. So far, the Budd Bay Buffaloes (5-1) are in good shape despite a loss to the Spokane Razorbacks in October. They had tight wins over the Sno Co. Rhinos (4-2) and the Portland Pigs (4-2) which when combined with their slaughters of the Seattle Quake (1-4) and the Kitsap Renegades (0-6), puts them sitting pretty on the top of the table. The Rhinos and Pigs are tied for second; they played each other opening weekend and the Pigs took that one 29-21. In fourth are the Spokane Razorbacks (3-2) who lost their two away matches against the Pigs and Rhinos. As they did win their home match over the top seed, perhaps they will add a few more wins when teams travel out west to them. Seattle Quake (1-4) recorded their solo victory 21-17 over the Kitsap Renegades (0-6) who are hoping that the new year brings them some new luck for the second half of the season.

Three active weekends of games in January to kick off the Southern California Men’s D3 season. Beaumont (2-0) started splendidly after putting triple digits on the LA Rebellion (0-2) and then squeezing out a 50-47 win over Riverside (0-1). Fortunately Riverside gets two bonus points in that loss. Beach Cities (2-0) also started on the right foot as they went back to back weekends only allowing a single try while scoring over eight of their own. South LA Soul (2-0) narrowly defeated Temecula (0-2) before more confidently toppling the San Diego Armada (0-3). A bit of a mixed bag for the Fullerton Dead Elephants (1-1) and the WC Marines (2-1). The Elephants smashed the Armada before losing by five to the Marines. The Marines also beat the Armada, but struggled against Beach Cities who put 50 points on them. This is going to be an exciting season, watch this space. 

A hybrid competition out of the Southwest region for Men’s D2 and D3 that kicked off this past month. Not all teams have submitted final scores yet so we’re missing some information, but we’ll go off what we have! The Las Vegas Irish (2-0) are currently on top after two strong showings against the Landshark Men (0-1) and the Red Mountain Warthogs (1-1). The Tempe Old Devils (1-1) look good as well, they defeated Phoenix (0-1) and came within three points of the Warthogs the other weekend. Scottsdale appears to have split their club into two competing sides, the Blue and the White, but only the Blue side have a score recorded; a 39-23 win over the Camelback Rugby Club (0-1). Hopefully by February we will see more of Scottsdale and the Tucson Magpies as the season progresses. 

Division 3 in the Midwest is massive, so there’s a lot to cover from the fall. The top two from each of the eight subdivisions went into the round of sixteen, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. After defeating Louisville (5-1), South Pittsburgh Hooligans (5-1) had home field advantage in the quarters. They took on Dayton (6-0) who put almost 100 points on their play-in opponent the Cleveland Rovers (5-1). The Hooligans were able to put a halt to Daytons undefeated season, and won 41-24 to advance to the next round. The Detroit Tradesmen (5-0) on the other hand continued their undefeated streak as they took down the Flint Rogues (4-1) followed by the Michiana Moose (4-1) who had previously defeated the Capital Area Crisis (5-0) in the play-in. On the other side of the bracket, the Chicago Riot (5-2) were writing their Cinderella story as they beat the Fox City Gargoyles (6-0) on the road, and then upset the Northwest Woodsmen (5-2) in the quarters. The final quarterfinal was decided by only a single point, as the Red River Ruffians (5-1) eked out the Bremer County Bucks (4-1) 41-40 for the win. 

In the semifinals the South Pittsburgh Hooligans snapped the Detroit Tradesmen’s undefeated record as they surged from behind and clenched the final berth 38-22. In the other semi, the Riot and Ruffians played out a tight contest. The Riot opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the eighth minute, and the Ruffians took until the 32nd minute to answer with a try. The Riot scored on the stroke of halftime to take the lead back entering the final 40. However a pair of back to back tries in the second half gave the Ruffians the go-ahead. The Riot chose to go for the penalty in the last 10 minutes to bring it back within a converted try, but never found the try zone again. The Red River Ruffians would advance to the final, 19-13. 

It was the Ruffians against the Hooligans for the final, a classic rugby derby. The Hooligans took the upper hand, scoring 10 minutes in; but the Ruffians had their own say, scoring twice before the half. The Hooligans scored and converted at 55 minutes, bringing the score to a tie. The crucial penalty goal was scored at 60 minutes by scrumhalf Brandon Phan for the Hooligans. Both teams would add another unconverted try before the end of the match, but that penalty goal was the difference; Hooligans taking the crown 20-17. Fortunately for the Ruffians, the top two from the Midwest advance to the Northern Super Regional in the spring. Could we see these two meet in the final? They must advance past the champions from Mid-America and Rocky Mountain first.

Seven teams compete in the Mid-America Men’s D3, starting their season in the fall and continuing in March. So far the Royal Ramblers (4-0) are perfect on the season with two games left to play against the Mercenaries (0-4) and the Outlaws (1-3). If they win those two, they finish on top. Duking it out for second are Springfield (3-1) and Sunday Morning RFC (3-1). Sunday Morning had a tough loss to the Ramblers in October, where Springfield was able to put 21 points up against the division leaders in their loss. The Rowdies (2-2) also impressed, their loss to the Ramblers was a respectable 36-17, and they came within a try when they played Sunday Morning. If they win their two matches in spring, they could easily vault into second. We’ll have to wait until March to see this competition spring back into action.

Another split season for the D3 Men’s Clubs in the Rocky Mountain Region. It’s close at the top of the table. The Denver Highlanders (6-0) are still undefeated with full bonus points, but they are being closely tailed by the Queen City Rams (5-1) who have full winning AND losing bonus points thanks to the 40-35 loss to the Highlanders in October. Trailing in third are the Littleton Scots (3-3) who started the season 0-3 but have been on a three game winning streak since. The Denver Barbarians (3-3) and Colorado Springs Grizzlies (3-3) are in that middle pack as well, a few upsets come March and both of them could jump up. The Rocky Mountain Conference will go straight to finals in the postseason so teams will have to make those final games count.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, the season is on a hiatus until the end of March, before the final round of regular season and the playoffs. Rocky Gorge (6-0) has one match left to play against Baltimore-Chesapeake (1-4). Even with a surprise loss, their table point spread is enough to secure first for playoffs. The Washington Irish (5-2) finished in the fall, and must sit and wait for Schuylkill River (5-1) to play Baltimore-Chesapeake in March. If Schuylkill wins, they will hop to second place, dropping the Washington Irish down to third. The Potomac Exiles (4-3) are the final team with their sights on the playoffs in April, and you can’t forget their narrow 19-14 loss to Rocky Gorge in the fall. That rematch in the semi-final is sure to be spicy. 

This season started in the fall and picks back up in February. Ten teams compete in two subdivisions, the North and the South, however they do crossover in the competition. Pensacola (2-0) and New Orleans (1-0) are undefeated in the South while Atlanta Old White (1-0) and the Knoxville Possums (1-0) are still undefeated in the North. The Clarksville Headhunters (1-2) have played the most games, standing strong over Chattanooga (0-2), but then dropping a 40-24 match to the Memphis Blues (1-1). Memphis on the other hand lost to the Possums to keep them at 1-1. Okaloosa (0-2) is still searching for their first win after opening the season with losses to Pensacola and New Orleans.

All eyes are on the February start for these teams as New Orleans and Pensacola go head to head, as well as Old White and the Possums.

Plenty of action in the Red River and across Texas to dig into from the past month. Four subdivisions, three based regionally and one containing clubs with associated D1 sides in the Red River Premiership. 

In the South, it’s truly anyone’s game. The Houston Arrows (3-1) are in the lead right now, but they did lose to Houston United (2-2) in November. HURT lost to both Galveston (2-2) and Shreveport (2-1). Shreveport lost to Galveston, but then Galveston lost to Bay Area (1-2). So in short, who knows? 

In the Central region, San Antonio (4-1) reigns supreme; their only loss comes from a cross-conference match against the Austin Blacks. Corpus Christi (3-2) has turned their program around and now takes second place in the central region, with wins over Alamo City (2-2), McAllen (0-5), and Fort Hood Old Skool (1-3).

Heading up North, OKC Legion (2-0) and Little Rock (1-0) are both undefeated at the start of their season. The Legion defeated the Austin Huns in their cross-conference game, as well as fellow North subdivisional member Tulsa (1-2). Their one loss comes from the hands of Alliance (2-1) who won over Dallas RFC but lost to Little Rock.

The final subdivision consists of four clubs who field multiple sides. As always, the Austin Blacks (3-0) are THE team to beat after their multiple National Championships since 2018. The Austin Huns (2-2) are in second thanks to a few more bonus points than Dallas (1-2) from their win over the Dallas Harlequins and a forfeit from Galveston.

A lucky baker’s dozen of teams in the D3 competition in Florida that kicked off in the beginning of January. So far Gainesville (1-0), the Pelicans (1-0), Daytona (1-1), and Orlando (1-0) all opened with a win. In a stroke of bad luck, Lakeland (0-0-1) and Claymores (0-0-1) opened with a tie. A number of teams have yet to start their season; we hope that by the end of February we will have more to report on. 

There are a large number of games in Georgia that have taken place and are scheduled to take place, but no scores have been reported for any of them. Once we get to the bottom of the missing scores, we will happily update on what’s happening in Georgia.

Over in the Carolinas, the competition started in November and continues on through the spring. Lots of rugby played but still more to come! In the East bracket, Cape Fear (3-1-1), Tobacco Road (3-2), and the Onslow Misfits (3-2) are all neck and neck for first with the Fayetteville Dragons (2-3-1) not far behind. All four teams are trading blows, Cape Fear lost to and tied the Dragons, the Dragons lost to Onslow and Tobacco Road, and Tobacco Road beat Onslow. The games in February are going to be massive as far as postseason dreams are concerned. 

In the West bracket, it seems a bit more cut and dry. The Columbia Rhinos are 5-1, but they are the only team to have played that many matches. Charlotte (2-1) lost a big one to the Rhinos back in October, but that was at the start of their season, many things can change. Even the Greenville Griffins (2-2) still have a shot, if they can beat the Charlotte RFC, the Charlotte Barbarians (0-4), and the Asheville Iguanas (0-1) in the spring.

Three subdivisions to cover in the Capital Men’s Division 3 that kicked off in the fall and continues in March.

First up is the Challenger division which contains the D3 sides of the clubs who also participate in the Men’s Division 1. Rocky Gorge (6-0) look more than comfortable on top of the table with a 320 point differential. That’s an average of over 50 point differential per match! Following Rocky Gorge are the Washington Irish (3-2) and the Potomac Exiles (3-2). Also worth looking at Schuylkill River (2-3) who clocked an impressive win over the Irish in September. It’s a pretty large jump from the middle of the pack to Rocky Gorge on top, but it ain’t over till it’s over!

In the Central region we have a tie for first between Severn River (5-1) and the Washington Renegades (5-1); they’ve met head to head twice so far, each winning their home fixture. We won’t see them trade punches again in the regular season, but they could meet in the divisional finals. Behind them in third is Loudon (3-3) whose playoff hopes are close to being over. Anything is possible, but Loudon will definitely have to win their match-up against the Renegades in March in order to take the first step to a championship run.

The final division we have to cover is the South region which is only waiting on the results of one spring game to be finalized. It looks like Virginia Beach (5-1-1) will take the top spot regardless of their result against James River in March. The Newport News (4-4) and Virginia (4-4) came second and third after a thrilling season of matches. Newport News won their last match of the season 29-28 against Virginia Beach, who had beat them 24-22 in October. 

Once these seasons resume in March we will have some final scores to report and playoff structures for the Capital region to see who will advance to the Atlantic Super Regional and beyond.

Ten teams are competing in the Eastern Pennsylvania Men’s D3 competition this year, and it looks like it’s about halfway through the season – in the middle of the winter break. Wilkes-Barre (6-0) are the only undefeated side left with a comfortable 229 point differential. It hasn’t just been blowouts though, Brandywine (2-4) came within two points, and Lehigh Valley (2-2-1) within eleven. Northeast Men (4-1-1) are currently in second thanks to some bonus points for high-scoring matches. They just edge out Harrisburg (5-1) who sits in third, despite beating Northeast in October. Jersey Shore Men (4-2) are one table point behind Harrisburg, their two losses coming at the hands of Northeast and Harrisburg. Wilmington (3-2) also has a pretty good chance of making it into the top four as they have one less match played than the top tier of teams. Rounding out the rest of the competition are the Montgomory Bucks (1-5), Blackthorn (1-5) and Hibernian (0-6) who may not have sights set on playoffs but can still rake in a few more wins in the spring half of the season.

The Empire Conference has four subdivisions. At the end of the regular season, each sends its top seed to playoffs where they go straight into semifinals and then the final. The winner goes on to the Atlantic Super Regional in the spring to compete against the champions from EPRU, Capital, and New England.

In the Connecticut division, Greenwich (5-1) dominated, going on a perfect run until the final weekend when they were felled by Danbury (4-2) on the road. However Danbury had already lost once to Greenwich and once to New Haven (3-3), so the last win had no effect on the standings. 

In the Metro division, Long Island (6-0) went undefeated the whole season, however second place Suffolk (4-2) had a larger point differential and scored the maximum possible bonus points for their record. Had the teams played more games, this might have given Suffolk the edge to qualify above Long Island, but alas. Brooklyn (3-3), Rockaway (3-3), and NYRC (3-3) all finished on the same record, trading wins and losses with each other. We would have loved to see this division go to subdivisional playoffs, but unfortunately time is a factor, and Long Island secured up the seed for the postseason. 

Upstate, Syracuse (6-0) battled through tough opponents. The Rochester Aardvarks (1-5) came within three of toppling the eventual champs, and South Buffalo (5-1) within five. However Syracuse always found themselves on the winning side come full time.

Finally, in New Jersey it all came down to bonus points to break the tie between Montclair (5-1) and Union (5-1). Union was victorious the opening weekend of the season, but Montclair won the second fixture. Union edged the head to head point differential by two, but Montclair got key bonus points in their wins over Central Jersey (0-6)  and Morris (3-3) to give them the top seed and the ticket to the postseason.

Syracuse hosted Montclair and Long Island hosted Greenwich for the semifinals. Both games provided end to end action, with over 75 points scored per match. For Syracuse, Benjamin Mousseau and Colton Moyer each scored twice to see their team to the 48-29 victory. Long Island relied on Maximillian Witowski who put up 19 of their 44 points to roll past Greenwich.

The final two undefeated teams met November 16th in the Empire Championship, a ticket to the Atlantic Super Regionals on the line. Syracuse scored first, followed immediately by Long Island. At halftime, Long Island led 19-10, but that joy was soon cut short by the onslaught in the second half. It was all gas no brakes as Syracuse scored five tries in the second half to Long Island’s zero. At the final whistle, it was the visitors who stood tall, Syracuse victorious 41-19.

Eight teams played a home or away round robin throughout the fall season in New England. The top four went straight to the conference semifinals and the winners onto the final, which took place in November. 

The Albany Knickerbockers (6-1) reigned throughout the regular season, and not just by the quality of their team name, but by what they produced on the pitch too. They did drop their last regular season game against the Boston Irish Wolfhounds (5-2) but already had the top seed secured before that. The Wolfhounds needed that win to claim second in the standings. Providence (5-2) had an identical record to the Wolfhounds, but lost the head to head played in October 31-7, so they took third overall. The final players in the postseason run were the Boston Maccabi (4-3) who got one more bonus point than Burlington (4-3), which qualified them for a shot at the championship.

The semis were set, Knickerbockers versus Maccabi and Wolfhounds vs Providence. Albany played the Maccabi back in September, when they recorded a 40-24 win on the road. The Maccabi were only able to hold them to one less converted try this time as the Knicks booked their ticket to the Championship match 33-24. Consistency is key. In the other semi, the Wolfhounds were looking to repeat their regular season rout of Providence. Providence brought a bit more edge, finding the try zone three times; but in the end it was still the Wolfhounds on top 39-17. 

Onto the final, Boston Irish Wolfhounds versus Albany Knickerbockers. Albany were the favorites, but Boston won the regular season game. Straight out of the gates the Wolfhounds scored through winger William Hart. Albany were immediately on the back foot. The Wolfhounds had a stellar first half, but after the 50th minute they stalled. Albany came back bit by bit. However it was too little too late for the Knicks as the Wolfhounds held on until the final whistle, 39-33. The Wolfhounds will head to the Atlantic Super Regional tournament and take on the champions of Empire, EPRU, and Capital come spring.