It’s officially playoff season; the Geographic Unions have wrapped up their league finals and crowned champions who are advancing to the Super Regionals. There are four Super Regional tournaments across the country, representing the four main regions: Northern, Atlantic, Gulf Coast, and Pacific. Pacific and Gulf Coast kick-off the final weekend of April, while Northern and Atlantic take place the first weekend of May. The four regions have slightly different matches; some host Women’s D3 and Men’s D4 (non-National Championship seeking leagues), others have semifinals for Men’s and Women’s D1, while others only have a single championship. Either way, all four are epic tournaments showcasing the best rugby that the USA Club scene has to offer. And I’m going to cover it all.
In this article we’re going to preview the matches taking place in Austin, Texas, at the Gulf Coast Super Regional. Men’s D3, Women’s D2, and Men’s D2 all have semifinals on Saturday, the winners of which advance to the finals on Sunday. Men’s D1 and Women’s D1 both have a standalone final on Saturday, both of which are technically the Red River Championship match as the rest of the Gulf Coast doesn’t have those competitions locally. There’s also Women’s D3 taking place at this tournament, but as they don’t advance to a National Championship, I don’t cover them (yet!).
MD3: Charlotte vs New Orleans
First up we’ve got our two Men’s D3 semifinals. The Gulf Coast region has produced all the Men’s D3 National Champions since 2018, making this region a powerhouse when it comes to Men’s D3 club rugby.
The Charlotte Olde Originals defeated the defending D3 National Champions, the Columbia Rhinos, in the Carolinas Championship to advance to this Super Regional. They went 8-0-1 in the regular season, drawing 31-31 back in November against the Rhinos. In the league semis, Charlotte hosted Southern Pines, only giving up one try in the final 10 minutes to win the match 55-7. In the Carolinas final, Charlotte came out hot against the Rhinos, scoring two unanswered tries in the opening minutes. Columbia didn’t scare easily though, and managed to tie the score back up shortly before halftime, when the Olde Originals scored once more to take the lead into the break. From there, the difference came down to kicking. Blake Jackson kicked two penalty goals for Charlotte in the second half that ended up being the key to the win, final score 37-34. Charlotte should come into this match with a lot of confidence; they’ve already taken down the top dogs, who’s next?
Forced to take on the top seed are the men from New Orleans, who won the play-in on April 11th over the Georgia Champions, the Savannah Shamrocks. New Orleans took home the True South Championship after defeating the Pensacola Aviators 56-27. Their path through the playoff rounds included a 55-28 win over the Memphis Blues in the semifinals. When Pensacola defeated Huntsville to meet New Orleans in the final, it was New Orleans who had the upper hand. They defeated Pensacola back in the regular season, 33-21 on December 6th; so they knew what it took. The game was never really out of hand for New Orleans, who ran up the score 32-3 entering halftime. Pensacola got a few scores on the board in the second half, but New Orleans had locked down the win by then. Despite winning the True South Championship, New Orleans had one final hurdle before they could book their tickets to Austin, taking on the Savannah Shamrocks in Georgia. Three tries for James Richardson helped seal the deal for the visiting side. New Orleans now finds themselves in their first Gulf Coast Super Regional match in three years, taking on the top seed for a chance in the final. With nothing to lose, New Orleans could be our Cinderella story of the tournament.
MD3: Brevard Old Red Eye vs Austin Blacks
On the other side of the Men’s D3 bracket, we have two teams who are very familiar with the Super Regionals, having played each other in the 2024 final; the Austin Blacks and Brevard Old Red Eye.
Brevard Old Red Eye won the Men’s D3 Competition in Florida, defeating the Palm Beach Panthers in the final 59-24. Brevard are old dogs when it comes to playoff rugby, they know what it takes. They’ve been in the last two Super Regional finals, losing 18-14 in 2024 and 31-24 in 2025. Both of those matches were lost to the eventual National Champions, proving they are just inches away from taking home a title themselves. They’ve had a decent run-up as far as the Florida regular season goes. Both regular season matches against the Palm Beach Panthers were losses for Brevard. Some teams may see this as an omen, and lose faith when they have to take on their rivals for a third time this season in the state final, but not Brevard. The first two losses were merely opportunities to learn how the Panthers would play and how Brevard could best them. When the time came, Brevard were ready. It was not just a win for Old Red Eye, but a resounding win, final score 59-24. Now Brevard are back and ready for redemption at Gulf Coast. Twice they’ve been the runners-up, and now it’s time for all the glory.
It won’t be easy however, because their opponents are arguably more experienced when it comes to playoff rugby. It could be no other than the Austin Blacks, the four-time D3 National Champions, and eight-time reigning Red River Conference Champions. Austin last faced Brevard in the 2024 Gulf Coast Final, defeating the Florida side only 18-14. The Blacks have been unstoppable in the Red River this year, racking up an average differential of 60 points per match. Their closest game this year was 35-10 over the Dallas Harlequins on March 14th, but other than that, Austin haven’t really had cause to worry. Don’t think this means the Blacks will be unprepared when it comes time for Super Regionals; they’ve been here before and they know how stiff the competition is. They’re on the hunt for their fifth National Title.
WD2: Tampa Krewe vs Charlotte
Moving on to the Women’s Division 2 semifinals. The Gulf Coast has produced three of the last six Women’s D2 National Champions, and all three are making appearances at this year’s Super Regional. Tampa Krewe are the most recent National Champions, winning the title in 2024 over Phoenixville White Horse. The Krewe also won the Super Regional last year, defeating the Knoxville Minx on Sunday 40-7. In Florida, Tampa finished their regular season undefeated, taking down second-place Orlando in the state final; the fifth Florida title for this side. It’s hard to stop a train once it’s started, and the Krewe are already steaming ahead.
Facing the Krewe in the first round are the Carolinas Women’s D2 Champions, Charlotte. Charlotte won the National Title in 2018 over the St. Louis Sabres and have been excellent this year, going toe to toe with the Atlanta 2.0 Selects in the Carolinas. The final on April 11th absolutely delivered as Atlanta took an early lead on the scoreboard over Charlotte. By halftime, the score was back in the favor of the North Carolina side thanks to two penalty goals from Karina Bridgman. The second half it got gritty. The 2.0 Selects received three yellow cards during the match while Charlotte got one in the last ten minutes, mostly for repeated infringements. Charlotte made the most of playing a man up, outscoring Atlanta four tries to three in the second half. The final score was 35-25 in favor of Charlotte, the bid to the Super Regional secured. Compared to the other three Women’s D2 teams in the Gulf Coast Final Four, Charlotte are the newbies of the group. While this means they might not have some of the street smarts that the others do, they also have the element of surprise. The Krewe won’t know how they play or how they win their matches, they’ll be a complete unknown.
WD2: Knoxville Minx vs Little Rock Stormers
The second Women’s D2 semifinal has the 2023 National Champions, the Knoxville Minx, taking on the Red River Champions, the Little Rock Stormers. Obviously Knoxville has made it to the Super Regional stage before, but the Little Rock Stormers are no newbies either. The Stormers made it to the semifinal last year, falling 35-29 against the Tampa Krewe, as well as back in 2023, with the same loss to the same team. This year Little Rock looks good. They finished 4-1 in the regular season, with their only loss from the D1 Dallas Harlequins. And it’s important to note that loss was a final score of 29-27, hardly an expected result from a cross-conference match. Little Rock defeated the San Antonio Riveters in the Red River Championship match back on April 11th in order to book their slot for Gulf Coast, by a score of 38-22.
The Knoxville Minx are back for their fourth Gulf Coast Super Regional in a row, and have made it to the final every year. They won the True South Championship on April 12th after defeating the Birmingham Steel 31-22. The Minx only led by two points as the game clock ticked down, but a flurry of tries in the last 15 minutes of the match gave Knoxville the breathing room they needed to secure the title. The scorelines in the True South were a bit closer than they have been in years past, with Knoxville even losing a regular season match to the Steel back in February. Whether this means the competition has gotten better or the Minx have lost a step, we won’t know until Saturday. Either way, the Minx haven’t missed a Super Regional final yet, and they won’t let Little Rock stand in their way.
MD2: Atlanta Old White vs Fort Lauderdale Knights
Moving into the Men’s Division 2 competition, we’ve got the Gulf Coast’s only defending National Champion back joining the mix, Atlanta Old White. Now, Atlanta played their regular season with True South D2 this year, as they were the only Men’s D2 team left in the Carolinas competition. But technically this year they still qualify from the Carolinas. Don’t think too hard about it, they won a National Championship last year doing the same thing so it’s not like they don’t deserve to be here. Old White went undefeated in True South this year, but not by giant margins. Their total PD was +171 over six matches, an average of 29 points per match; certainly not the worst we’ve seen. They’ve also mixed in some friendlies along the way, taking on Fort Wayne in March and Raleigh at the start of April. Atlanta are doing all they can to scout out to competition and prepare themselves to defend their National title.
The first in line to face Old White are the Florida D2 Champions, the Fort Lauderdale Knights. The Knights only lost one regular season match this year, 28-26 against Boca Raton, the final week of league play. They already wrapped up the top seed by then, so they didn’t lose anything by dropping that one. They certainly made up for it in the state final on April 11th, demolishing Boca 51-10 in order to defend their Florida title and make the return trip to the Gulf Coast. Last year the Knights fell 26-12 against the Red River Champions, the Austin Blacks, in the semifinal, ending their run. It’s been a great couple of years from the Knights, who were bottom of the FRU table just two years ago. With this rate of improvement, Fort Lauderdale are certainly shooting higher than a semifinal finish; they just have to get through Old White first.
MD2: Houston United Rugby Team vs Nashville
Our second Men’s D2 semifinal pits the Red River Champions, Houston United Rugby Team, against the True South Champions, Nashville. HURT finished top of the table in the Red River, despite losing one match to last year’s champs, the Austin Blacks. They got their revenge in the Red River Championship match, defeating the Blacks 44-17 in order to punch their ticket to the Gulf Coast. It’s not HURT’s first time at the big dance, they made the trip back in 2024, falling to New Orleans in the semifinal. However this year, the men from Houston are determined to take it to the next level. With the last two Men’s D2 Champions coming from this region, HURT know that their stiffest competition might be this weekend in Austin. Power through this and Nationals will be no problem.
Taking on HURT are the True South Champions, Nashville. Nashville played Knoxville in what was referred to as the True South Championship Friendly. It seems like there’s a backstory there and I am not going to get into it. Either way, Nashville made the cut and are heading to Austin to test themselves against HURT. Nashville haven’t just relied on the True South competition this year to test themselves, they traveled to Indianapolis to play the Impalas, who made one heck of a playoff run themselves last year. Should Nashville win their semifinal, there’s a very good chance that they will have to take on Atlanta Old White for the third time this season in order to advance to Nationals in Chicago.
MD1: Austin Blacks vs Dallas RFC
Our final matches of the day will be the Red River Championship D1 finals, both men’s and women’s. Last year the Red River Men’s D1 Champion played against the Miami Tridents at the Super Regional to determine who would advance to the National Final Four. With Miami out of the picture, the Red River has decided that the top two teams will play one final winner-take-all match instead. This means that for the third time this season we will see the Austin Blacks take on the Dallas RFC, this time for all the marbles.
Austin are undefeated this season, with their two wins over the Dallas RFC totalling a difference of 96-25. Now, those scores favor Austin pretty heavily, but Dallas and Austin have a history that goes back far beyond two measly regular season games. The two have been duking it out for the top spot in the Red River for years. They both have a National Title to their names, Dallas in 2022 and Austin in 2023. Dallas made the trip to Nationals in 2024, falling to the St. Louis Bombers in the semifinals while Austin went last year, falling to Belmont Shore. If the pattern continues, it should be Dallas’ turn to take the trip. It would be silly to count out either of these two sides, they’ll both be sure to bring their A-game to Austin this weekend in hopes of heading back to another National Championship tournament.
WD1: Life U vs Houston sHARCs
Similarly to the Men’s D1 competition, the top two Red River Women’s D1 teams at the close of the regular season are playing in a final winner-take-all match at the Super Regional. This pits newcomers Life University against Texas stalwarts the Houston sHARCs. The two have already played twice this season in their D1/D2 hybrid conference, and both scores fell in favor of Life U. The first was a battle, with Houston hosting. They managed to stay competitive against the Atlanta-based side, scoring two tries in the 36-12 loss. However, the second match was anything but competitive. Life steamrolled Houston at home, putting up 116 unanswered points in 80 minutes. This scoreline is reflective of most of Life’s matches this season, including the friendlies played against the Atlantic Women’s D1 sides. Houston has the playoff experience, having represented the Gulf Coast region the past few years at Nationals, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough to stop this Life side. We’ll find out this weekend, as the winner of Saturday’s match advances directly to the National Final Four.
