Atlantic Super Regional 2025 Preview

The Super Regionals are finally here and teams are competing outside of their Geographic Unions for the first time this season, all in a bid to make it to the USA Rugby Club Championships in Indianapolis. 

We’re going to switch things up and preview each Super Regional before it happens, just to build the excitement and set the stage for what will be four fantastic tournaments. As always – the disclaimer – the statistics and records are pulled from team-entered data on RugbyXplorer. Any other commentary added is just for fun from someone who has no stake in the final outcomes.

Now that we’ve covered that – it’s time to dive into the Atlantic Super Regional being held this weekend in Providence, Rhode Island!

We’ve got a massive slate of games to get through on Saturday, not including Men’s D4 and Women’s D3 semi-finals which are being played, although not advancing beyond this Super Regional. Semi-finals are being played for Men’s D2, Men’s D3, Women’s D2, and Women’s D1 competitions. The Men’s D2, Men’s D3, and Women’s D2 all feature the Champions from the New England, Empire, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Capital unions while the Women’s D1 is a final playoff of four Atlantic Conference teams. We also cover the Men’s D1 Final, which will see the Empire/New England Champion taking on the Mid-Atlantic Champion in Mt Vernon, New York. Whew, let’s get started!

Kicking the day off are the Men’s Division 2 semi-finals, starting with the New England Champions against the Eastern Pennsylvania Champions. From NERFU are the Boston Irish Wolfhounds (6-1) who claimed their title way back in November when they came from behind to snatch victory from the hands of Portland. This marked their third NERFU D2 Championship in a row, and their third trip to the Super Regionals. They are also back to back reigning champions of the Super Regional, defeating New York last year 31-22 to punch their ticket to Austin. As consistent as this side is, they want to take it further. While ending the regular season in the fall may seem like a detriment, the Wolfhounds are one of the few teams who knew their place in the Super Regional was confirmed, and so they’ve had months to focus on this game and this tournament. They played a warm-up against Hartford just a few weeks ago to fine-tune in preparation for taking on North Bay.

Representing the EPRU are North Bay (9-1) after their epic victory over undefeated Old Gaelic Rugby on April 12th. North Bay undoubtedly had a more impressive season in terms of points scored, a whopping 413PD compared to Old Gaelic’s 233; but back in the regular season they just missed the mark, dropping their October match 31-40. North Bay was resilient however, taking the learnings from that match and applying them when it mattered the most. After defeating Philadelphia Whitemarsh by just four points in the semi-final, the rematch was set. It would be Old Gaelic against North Bay for the seed to Super Regionals. Old Gaelic opted for points at every opportunity, while North Bay trusted their runners. Thanks to a triple threat of tries from Brenton Violante, Mitch Vannoy, and Tyler Barberi, North Bay soared past Old Gaelic and clenched the win 22-14. Now debuting at the Super Regional at the Men’s D2 level, they will have one of the hardest opening matches; but should they topple the Boston Irish, they have a great chance at making it to Indy.

On the other side of the bracket are the Empire Champions taking on the Capital Champions. New York (8-0) repeated as Empire Champs after an undefeated season in the fall. The Empire was full of high-scoring games and close contests this year, with 27 bonus points being awarded across the 18 total matches. New York was consistently top of the table, racking up a 208PD. In fact, their closest match was the final, where they outscored Old Blue by just one conversion, winning 26-24. New York were finalists in last year’s Super Regional, losing to the Boston Irish Wolfhounds. Should New York beat the Capital Champions, there is always a chance they will come face to face with the Irish again, but this time, they will be ready.

Coming out of the Capital region are the Riverlands Golden Boars (4-1) who fought their way back from an opening weekend loss to be victorious at the Conference Championship. Heading into the last weekend of the regular season, the Riverlands had yet to cement the top of the table finish. Their last match was against the Raleigh Vipers, a strong side sitting in second place. The Vipers had fallen against the Golden Boars back in October, but stormed onto the scene in March with a renewed passion. A spectacular try in the 70th minute by front rower Raymond Dezeeuw and converted by Taylor Jordan gave the Riverlands the nudge they needed to finish on top 36-34. The victory was short-lived however as the Vipers sliced through James River in the semi-final and were on their way to the Golden Boars not two weeks later. With the trip to the Super Regional on the line, the Riverlands were ready. They were quick and efficient in the win, dotting down eight tries, with four alone coming from the hands of speedy winger Emmanuel Bangura. It’s tough competition out there in the Men’s D2, but the Golden Boars are set on etching their names in history and coming out of Rhode Island with the title.

Next, the women take the pitch, as we welcome the Women’s D2 Champions from Empire and Capital. New Haven Old Black (6-0) were undefeated back in the fall when they played their competitive season in the New York area. With a 305PD over six matches, it’s safe to say it wasn’t much of a challenge for the Old Black. In fact, they only had 15 points scored against them the entire season. They hunkered down for the winter knowing there was one qualifier left to play in April. Kicking off their season just April 2nd, New Haven loaded their schedule to ensure they were prepared for their April 19th match against New England runners-up Providence. Five players made it on the scoreboard for New Haven in that 31-14 win; with captain Margaret Aydlett adding the extras. Providence won the National Title back in 2022, so the win was a strong step in showing that New Haven can go all the way to Indy.

Back in action are the Severn River Honey Badgers (6-0), coming out of the Capital region and ready to storm back to the National Championships where they were runners-up in 2023. Severn River missed the boat last year after just falling to Phoenixville White Horse in the Atlantic Super Regional final. White Horse proceeded to make it all the way to the final game where they fell to the Tampa Krewe. The Honey Badgers went 4-0 before closing their competitive season for the fall. When they came back in the spring they picked up right where they left off, defeating NOVA 38-19 and James River 26-14. This set them up as hosts for the conference championship match against James River. A low-scoring affair, Severn River scored first, immediately followed by James River. That was the only points the Honey Badgers would allow however, as they scored twice more to bring the final total 19-7. As it’s not Severn’s first time to the Super Regional, they’ll know the pressure they are under – make it through two matches and the ticket to Indy is theirs.

Rounding out the Women’s D2 teams are the New England and EPRU Champions. The Worcester Shamrocks (3-2) are representing New England after a Cinderella finish to their season. Worcester were solidly middle of the pack back in the fall, they lost to undefeated Providence and the Albany Knickerbockers, but got some clutch wins over the Hartford Wild Roses and Charles River. They qualified for playoffs as the third seed, set to travel to Albany (2nd seed) for the semi-finals. In a barn burner of a game Worcester matched Albany try for try, three players scoring doubles on the day. It would come down to conversions in the end, Laura Hetherman converting five to Albany’s four. The Shamrocks were heading to the finals. The mountain they had to climb had just gotten steeper however as they were slated to play against New England powerhouse Providence, the 2022 D2 National Champions. Just when it seemed easy to end the season with a well-deserved second place medal, Worcester decided no – we didn’t come here just to play, we came to win. 80 minutes of wildly intense rugby led to the final minute when the Shamrocks did the impossible, taking the win 28-27 over Providence. Now, much time has passed since the excitement of that win, but the Shamrocks are back in action and ready to continue this Cinderella story. Only way to go is up.

Sitting square in the path of Worcester are the Phoenixville White Horse (8-0) who breezed through Eastern Pennsylvania on their way back on the National Championship run. White Horse are the defending National runners-up, having defeated the Sacramento Amazons last year in the National semi-final to claim their place in the big dance. It seems that Phoenixville haven’t lost any of their steam from last year as they went 8-0 in the EPRU with a 424PD. Their championship match they won an astounding 66-0 against Harrisburg (who were National runners-up in 2019). There’s no one individual standout on Phoenixville’s side, they truly operate as a unit, attacking gaps and creating space to play in. In their championship match seven different players found the try zone while kicker Corinne Gallagher went eight from ten on conversion attempts. Phoenixville is back and ready to head to Indy, just two games to go until they can punch their ticket. 

Moving along to the Women’s D1 Competition, this is an interesting one. These Women’s D1 teams have been competing all season to secure seeding, and now are back to face familiar foes. The entire conference, minus the lowest place team, is heading to Rhode Island to try to punch their ticket to Nationals.

First up is Boston (5-3) versus Raleigh Venom (3-5). Boston finished second in the regular season while Raleigh took home third over Philadelphia thanks to a higher point differential. These two played twice in the regular season, the first in September in Raleigh, the second in October in Boston. Although there were a number of Mid-Atlantic matches played in March, these two haven’t faced off against each other in months. Both games the home team took the victory, the Venom 44-36 and then Boston 33-7. If you look at spring results, Raleigh lost to both the DC Furies and Philadelphia while Boston beat both. That does seem to favor Boston a bit more, but you have to consider home field advantage and travel distance/player availability. There’s a reason these geographically large conferences sometimes have mixed results. Also consider Raleigh’s history at the National Championships. They won the D2 title four times between 2005- 2011 and featured in back to back D1 Finals in 2017 and 2018, both times losing to Life West before they joined the WPL. Boston has yet to feature. Both teams will bring their top energy this weekend, giving it all for their chance to go to Indy.

In our other D1 Women’s semi-final we have top seed NOVA (7-1) taking on fourth seed Philadelphia (3-5). Saying NOVA are the team to beat is an understatement. They are the defending National Champions, after winning the title in both 2019 and 2022 (and remember there were no Nationals in 2020 and 2021 – so essentially back to back titles). They came second in 2023 to the San Diego Surfers and then boom back on top after the next year. So they’re not just good, they’re really good. In their matches against Philadelphia this season they won both, 51-12 and 47-33. So, results are definitely expected to go their way. However Philadelphia is not to be counted out so quickly. They came back in the spring and notched a strong win over Raleigh Venom, 27-17. They also came within three points against Boston in a road game, which as we noted above, is pretty difficult. Perhaps NOVA showed them the door in the fall, but a winter season can change many things. Philadelphia also knows that if they can knock NOVA off early in the competition, the window is wide open for another Women’s D1 team to take the ultimate title. And why not Philly?

Moving into our last semi-finals of the day we have the Men’s D3 competition, with the Empire Champion facing off against the Capital Champion. After finishing undefeated in the regular season, the Syracuse Chargers (6-0) tackled Montclair before facing Long Island in the Empire Final. Syracuse came from behind at the half to keep Long Island scoreless for the final 40 in their 41-19 win. As the northernmost team participating in this year’s Atlantic Super Regional, Syracuse finished their season in November and has had the least amount of prep time for this tournament. But even when not on the pitch, the Chargers have been working hard behind the scenes to prepare for this matchup against Rocky Gorge. Don’t be fooled by what you don’t see on social media, the Chargers are coming for this one. 

Coming from the Capital region we have Rocky Gorge (5-0) whose D3 side qualified for the Super Regionals with a triumphant 117-0 win over Virginia Beach. Nope, you didn’t misread that, Rocky Gorge came out in the final match and dropped triple digits on them. Now that alone doesn’t make a National Championship team, but when you look a bit closer at the details, you may notice Rocky Gorge has a lot more than one good game. They were undefeated in the D3 Challenger Division, their closest match with a 50 point differential. In fact, the only time we saw them stumble was in the semi-final against Severn River, and they still won 27-17. As a club, Rocky Gorge knows their way around a National Championship; they were title winners back in 2012 and 2014 in the Men’s D2 competition. Their D3 has never made it to the big dance before, but why not make this year their year. The competition is stiff at the Atlantic Super Regional, but Rocky Gorge is ready for the fight.

Our last semi-final of the day is between New England Champions, the Boston Irish Wolfhounds, and EPRU Champion, the Wilkes-Barre Breakers. Say what? Boston Irish Wolfhounds part 2? That’s right, the Wolfhounds are sending both a D2 and D3 side to the Super Regional this year after claiming all the hardware at the New England finals back in November. BIW went 5-2 in the regular season, including a four game winning streak after starting 1-2 in September. Their final regular season match was a thrilling 37-34 win over the Albany Knicks, who ended on top of the table. Fast forward two weeks and after semi-finals, it was down to the same two, Albany and Boston Irish. Despite only scoring in the first 50 minutes, the Wolfhounds held out until the final whistle, taking home the trophy 39-33. As newbies to the Super Regional scene, there are no expectations from the Wolfhounds, but sometimes when the pressure is off, teams perform at their best. With their D2 cheering them on from the sidelines, the Wolfhounds will be sure to give it their all. 

Our last Men’s D3 team making the run to the Atlantic Super Regional are the Eastern Pennsylvania Champions, the Wilkes-Barre Breakers (8-0). The Breakers went undefeated through the season, racking up a 264PD. Despite the large point differential, it wasn’t an entirely smooth ride. Lehigh Valley gave them a run for their money and Brandywine came within two. As the top seed, the Breakers got a bye through the quarterfinals and ended up facing Jersey Shore in the semis. Wilkes-Barre scored in the final minutes to seal the deal and the trip to the final, 29-22. The final was a muddy mess, with Northeast leading at the half. Ian Bukowski kicked a penalty goal for the Breakers to bring the match within two of the Northeast. Jayden Pahler dove over with the match decider in the 62 minute, and Wilkes-Barre held strong until the final whistle, winning the EPRU title for the first time in over 30 years. Now what’s next? The Boston Irish Wolfhounds. It’s not going to be easy, but Wilkes-Barre have the unwavering support of their community behind them, and villages can move mountains.

Our final match is the Men’s D1 Atlantic Final between New York Old Blue and Schuylkill River. Note that this match is taking place in a different venue – Mt Vernon, New York. 

New York Old Blue (3-3) typically plays in the ARP (American Rugby Premiership) and finished middle of the table this year, notching wins over Charlotte, NYAC, and Miami. They are representing the Empire/New England Conferences this year. Their last trip to Nationals ended in a second-place finish behind the Austin Blacks, 38-14. They played in one of the first USA Rugby National Championship matches, back in 1981 when they lost to the Berkeley Old Blues (how confusing was that to commentate?). New York Old Blue are always good and always a threat. Even without a formal spring season, you can never underestimate Old Blue.

Also seeking to make a return trip to the National Championship are the men from Schuylkill River (6-1) representing the Mid-Atlantic Conference after their epic 13-12 defeat of the Potomac Exiles. Potomac came from behind to knock off the number 1 seed Rocky Gorge in the semi-finals, blowing the competition wide open. Schuylkill secured their slot in the final over the Washington Irish 32-14. The final was a classic nailbiter, with the trusted boot of Danny Giannascoli tipping over two penalty goals that were the difference in the end. The last time Schuylkill headed to Nationals was in 2022 when they lost to the Dallas RFC in the final, and they won’t be forgetting that anytime soon. This will be a battle of the titans, but only one can go to Indy.

At the close of the day Saturday, all four final matches will be set and the Champions will be determined on Sunday. The four Sunday winners plus the Saturday MD1 winner will advance to the National Championship Weekend in Indianapolis on May 17th-19th.