The pools for the USAR National Club 7s have been released and it’s time to dive into the details; who qualified, what seed they are, and how did they get there. There’s a lot to cover so we’ll dive past the fluff this time and get straight into the action. But – I have to include my disclaimer – this information is taken from publicly posted scoresheets/tournament websites. Without RX reporting, I have to rely on the information provided by the clubs, so if anything is incorrect, my deepest apologies, but also it’s not the end of the world. These articles are written for entertainment from someone who has no stake in the outcome of these matches, I promise. I’m just here for the rugby.
This article covers our four men’s pools (E-H), if you’re looking for the women’s action – check that out HERE.
Here’s the final breakdown of the 2026 pools: Pool E – NOVA, Detroit Tradesmen, Denver Barbarians, Austin Blacks; Pool F – St. Louis Bombers, Schuylkill River Exiles, Washington Athletic, Kansas City; Pool G – New York Old Blue, Invictus, Beltway Elite, Eagle Rock; Pool H – Mystic River, Belmont Shore, Austin Huns, Apex.
Pool A
Leading off the men’s competition we’ve got our reigning National Champions, NOVA (1), taking the first overall seed and the top spot in Pool E. NOVA won the title last year after going 2-1 in pool play, defeating Belmont Shore in the quarters, Mystic River in the semis, and the Chicago Lions in the final, 15-14, to take the crown. We left off in June with NOVA going three for three in the Mid-Atlantic, but July threw a wrench in NOVA’s smooth running system. In the final qualifier, NOVA tied Schuylkill River then fell to Beltway Elite in pool play, putting them third in the four-team pool with a record of 1-1-1. Lightning delays then postponed matches and NOVA never got the opportunity to fight back through semifinals, eventually finishing third. However, their three trophies earlier in the season definitely cemented them on top of the table, and NOVA heads back to Nationals to defend their National title. I wouldn’t look too deep into those final tournament losses, I mean, they lost in pool play at the last Nationals and see how that turned out for them.
The first team joining NOVA will be the Detroit Tradesmen (8). Detroit finished 6th last year after going 1-1-1 in pool play and falling to New York Old Blue in the quarterfinals. They managed to eke by fellow Midwestern foe, the St. Louis Bombers, in the Plate semifinals 19-17, before losing the Plate Final 31-17 to Belmont Shore. This year, the Tradesmen finished third in the Midwest, defeating the Indianapolis Impalas 24-17 at the final qualification tournament in Elkhart, Indiana. Last year the competition between the top three teams in the Midwest was tight, but this year the Bombers seemed to sweep the field, including a resounding 36-7 win in the Championship final after taking home the other two titles from June. Does that mean that the two other Midwest seeds are perhaps entering at a higher rank than appropriate? I don’t know, but I do know that last year I tried to underplay the Tradesmen and was proven wrong, so I’m not taking that approach again. It will be interesting to see how both Detroit and Invictus (pool G) stack up nationally.
Coming in at the ninth overall seed are the Denver Barbarians (9), who (surprise surprise) finished ninth at last year’s Nationals. The Barbarians result last year is worth a closer look though; they finished 1-2 in pool play, but their two losses were 26-14 against Mystic River (who finished fourth) and 19-12 against the Chicago Lions (who finished second). The Barbos then won all their matches on Sunday, including a 26-17 defeat of Schuylkill River and a Bowl Final win over Life West 22-12. The Barbarians finished first in Mid-America/Frontier this year after sending two full sides to all three qualifiers from Denver to Omaha to Kansas City. The Barbos took home the titles at both Denver 7s and Fountain City 7s, and finished second to the Kansas City Blues at Omaha 7s. I’m going to be honest, I think a 9th place ranking is a little low for Denver, who have featured in eight Club 7s National Championship finals since the tournament’s inception. They are in a tough pool, but if they can make it out in the first or second spot, they’ll take on one of the top two of Pool F, two of which Denver has already beaten in the last year.
Our final team in pool E joins us from the Red River, the Austin Blacks (16). The Blacks finished second out of Texas after the Dallas Harlequins were found to have played an ineligible player in the second qualifying tournament. So technically the Blacks are the third seed from the Red River entering Nationals, and given the 11th and 15th place finishes that the Red River had last year, I get the 16th place ranking. That doesn’t mean you should count them out though. The Blacks finished second at the final qualifier of the season, and have years of tenure at the XV Championships. While that success might not directly translate to 7s, you know that the Blacks are practiced when it comes to playing under pressure. It’s certainly an uphill battle for the Blacks, but if anyone can do it, it’d be these guys.
Pool B
Our second pool is led off by the Midwest Champions, the St. Louis Bombers (2). The Bombers finished a surprising 7th last year after entering as the 4th overall seed and honestly, one of my top picks to take home the trophy. They went 2-0-1 in pool play, starting their day off with a 12-12 draw against Life U (who finished 16th!), but recovered and toppled the Dallas Harlequins and Beltway Elite in their race to the knockout rounds. In the quarterfinals they faced fellow Midwesterners, the Chicago Lions, and in an incredible comeback fashion, the Lions bested the Champs and continued onward. The Bombers then fell in the Plate semis to another Midwestern side, the Detroit Tradesmen, seemingly losing the plot. They managed to right the ship for their final match of the day against Beltway Elite, but a 7th place finish was far from what they had their sights set on. This year the Bombers take over the Chicago Lions’ second seed from their finish last year, and lead off Pool F. Last year St. Louis topped the Midwest, but it was close throughout the qualifiers. This year it’s undoubtedly St. Louis on top. They’ve only lost one match all summer, way back in the first qualifier against Invictus, and they capped off their Midwest Championship run with a 36-7 win to claim the title. Can St. Louis finish their run as strong as they started? Or will they peter out like last year and drop in the standings?
Joining the Bombers are another stalwart of the 7s, the Schuylkill River Exiles (7). Schuylkill River finished in 12th place last year, after entering the competition ranked 7th. They went 1-2 in pool play, racking up two big losses against the Tradesmen and Belmont Shore after defeating Washington Athletic. Their Bowl quarterfinal against the Austin Huns was cancelled due to rain, so they got a bye directly to the Bowl semi, where they lost 26-17 to the Denver Barbarians. They never played a ranking match so their 12th place finish was determined from PD in the semi; all in all a pretty dismal end for a regular title competitor. But that’s in the past! The Exiles are back and looking sharp. They finished second in the Mid-Atlantic after tying for the first place finish with Beltway Elite in the final qualifier of the year. They tied NOVA in pool play to finish first seed entering knockouts, but the final was never played due to storms (hence splitting the points with Beltway who finished second in the pool). Add in their second place finish from Red, White, and Blue 7s and Schuylkill could be heating up just when the time is right. They are well-positioned to make it into the knockout rounds this year, but it’s on them to follow through.
Joining Schuylkill River for the second year in a row are the Pacific Northwest Champions, Washington Athletic Club (10). WAC finished in 14th place last year, after going 0-2-1 in their pool. Their draw was against the Detroit Tradesmen, who finished 6th overall, so not too shabby. Their Bowl quarterfinal was also cancelled due to rain, but they bested Life U in the Shield semifinal to advance to one final game of the day. There they lost 17-5 to Eagle Rock, finishing a few spots below their entering rank of 10th. Now how did they get back to 10th this year? They took over Life West’s finish from last year, having beaten the Gladiators in the PNW/NorCal qualifiers this summer. It’s interesting that only one team is coming from that entire region, but perhaps this means that the stakes were even higher for those teams. If you HAD to win the top spot in order to make the trip to Nationals, that makes every match feel like a final. Add in the unpredictable weather and Washington Athletic might just be the best prepared to finish in the top two of Pool F and advance to the knockouts.
Our final team in this pool are the newbies on the scene, the Kansas City Reds (15). Kansas City have qualified for Club 7s for the first time in their club history – a phenomenal feat in itself. The Reds finished second overall in the Mid-America/Frontier region after clinching a second-place finish at Fountain 7s in Kansas City. They took home the bronze earlier in July at Omaha 7s, and 2nd at the first qualifier of the year in Denver. These finishes were enough to edge them over the Kansas City Blues and give them the nod to the big dance. Without prior 7s Nationals experience, I can’t really tell you how Kansas City will fare, but I do know one thing; Kansas City has absolutely nothing to lose. There’s nothing more threatening than a team that has already achieved their goals and sees everything else as a bonus. Where other teams might get frustrated with results and implode internally, the Reds are winners just for showing up, and that’s a valuable edge over the competition. We’ll have to wait for August 8th to see how they stack up, but we could have a true dark horse in our midst.
Pool C
Moving over to Pool G – this one is led by the reigning National XV Champions and first seed out of the Northeast, New York Old Blue (3). Old Blue finished third last year with a record of 5-1 and a win over NOVA in pool play. Their only loss came at the hands of the Chicago Lions, 19-14 in the semifinals. Old Blue have a couple of National 7s titles to their name, one back in 1993 and one in 2005. They most recently featured in the Championship match in 2022, losing to NAV 19-0. Old Blue went a perfect three for three in this year’s qualifiers, defeating Mystic River in all three qualifier finals. Look, I’m not one for making predictions, but I think Old Blue could take it this year. Some teams may be fatigued from the full XV Championship run, but I think it’s just lit a fire underneath this New York squad. If Old Blue take the crown, they will have accomplished an incredible feat, winning both the D1 XV and 7s Championship in the same year; last achieved by Belmont Shore in 2012.
The first team drawn in Old Blue’s pool will be Chicago-based Invictus (6). Invictus are taking over the Detroit Tradesmen’s finishing spot from last year after finishing second-place in the Midwest. Invictus took home second-place at all three tournaments, falling to the Bombers each time. Their last final was a tough 36-7 loss, but you can’t base everything off one game; they did notch a win against St. Louis earlier this season in pool rounds of the first qualifier. This makes them the only team to have dealt the Bombers a loss all season, a confidence boost they can take into Nationals.
Our third team in Pool G are the third seed out of the Mid-Atlantic, Beltway Elite (11). Beltway finished in 8th place last year, going 2-1 in pool play, but losing all of their Sunday games. Hey, someone has to lose all their games Sunday, that’s just the way it works out. You could argue that Beltway had an easy pool last year, with their two wins coming over teams that finished in 11th and 16th, but Beltway plays their regular season with some of the top dogs, so it’s no fluke they made it back to Nationals. Beltway tied for first in the final qualification tournament of the year, after finishing pool play in second place thanks to their defeat of NOVA. The final ultimately wasn’t played due to weather, so Beltway and Schuylkill split the top points, both getting nods to Nationals. Beltway entered as the 5th seed last year and dropped to 8th, now they are looking to reverse that outcome this year, and finish higher than their entering rank – maybe even making it back to the knockout rounds.
Rounding out Pool G are the second-seed from Southern California, Eagle Rock (14). Eagle Rock finished 13th last year after going 1-2 in pool play. Their bowl quarterfinal was cancelled due to lightning delays, but they won their two final matches on Sunday, defeating the Austin Huns 17-12 and Washington Athletic Club 17-5 to clinch the Shield. Their entering rank last year was also 14th, making them one of the most consistent clubs at Nationals. Eagle Rock duked it out with Belmont Shore Blue and Gold on the west coast this year, regularly finishing in the top three. With Director of Rugby Ryan Matyas at the helm, really anything is possible from this club. Eagle Rock came runners-up at both Sunsplash and Eagle Rock 7s, falling to Belmont, but taking home valuable qualifier points that eventually got them to the big dance in Madison. It’ll be a tough climb to make the top two in the pool for Eagle Rock, but expect some West Coast magic from these players. Anything can happen in a 7s game.
Pool D
Our final pool is led off by last year’s fourth-place finisher, Mystic River (4). Mystic River were blanked 33-0 in the bronze match at last year’s National Championship after going 2-1 in pool play. They defeated Beltway Elite in the quarterfinals before falling to NOVA in the semis, and eventually Old Blue in their final Sunday match. Interestingly enough, this final record of 3-3 was enough to put them in the top four, while teams like the Denver Barbarians finished with a 4-2 record and a 9th place finish. That’s a valuable lesson in why pool play matters. Mystic finished second overall in the Northeast, dropping another final to Old Blue back on July 11th before rains and lightning washed out the fourth qualifier on July 18th. Thanks to last year’s finish, Mystic enters this competition as the highest-seeded second-place team from their region, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook them. Instead, it’s a testament to just how strong the Northeast region is.
Joining Mystic River are the kings of SoCal, Belmont Shore (5). Belmont finished fifth last year, defeating the Detroit Tradesmen in the Plate final after going 3-0 in pool play. Their quarterfinal upset was at the hands of the eventual champions NOVA, which left Belmont playing for the plate instead of the cup. Belmont Shore are old pros when it comes to the USA Club 7s, they won three titles between 2009-2012 and came runners-up in 2024 to NAV. They finished last year with a better record than Mystic, but one place below them in the standings. This year, Belmont finished first in SoCal after a string of wins at the three qualifiers. What’s interesting is that Belmont entered two sides into each competition, Belmont Blue and Belmont Gold. It appears that both sides are equally weighted, because Blue won the Sunsplash Qualifier while Gold won the Eagle Rock qualifier. The two actually faced off in the semifinal at Sunsplash where Blue eked out Gold 19-14. Rosters had to be locked for the qualifiers, so we’re not about to see some all-star team made out of both Belmont squads, but both are equally intimidating on their own. It looks like Gold will make the trip up to Nationals, thanks to their final win at Eagle Rock, defeating Eagle Rock 28-7 to clinch the bid.
Joining these two powerhouses are another team that are no strangers to the National 7s scene, the Austin Huns (12). The Huns finished 15th at last year’s Nationals after entering as the Red River’s top seed. They got the boost in seeding this year thanks to the Dallas Harlequins’ 12th place finish last year. Austin went 0-4 last year, with both their Bowl quarterfinal and 15th/16th place match cancelled due to storms. They did put up some good fights against strong opponents, but it just wasn’t enough to get them the win. The Huns finished on top of the Red River Conference this year after going two for three on qualifier titles. They defeated Faith Family Rugby to take the crown at Bloodfest in June, followed by a defeat of the Dallas Harlequins at Sheriff 7s in July. Their final tournament saw them fall twice in pool play, once to Dallas and once to the Austin Blacks, relegating them out of the final match and settling for third. It was still enough to get them the bid though, and they enter Pool D ready for redemption from last year’s poor performance.
Rounding out the final 16 and Pool H are our South region champions, Apex (13). Apex didn’t feature at last year’s Nationals, with the South seed taken by Life U Men. Life finished 16th, going 0-4 and slotting below the Austin Huns solely due to point differential in the Bowl playoffs. It’s not a great start for Apex to inherit that seed, but they’ve been moved up a little bit thanks to their epic performances this summer at the southern qualifiers. Apex put up 40 points to Jacksonville’s 7 at the Christmas in July 7’s to take home their second title of the season, but perhaps the more impressive note here was Jacksonville’s defeat of NOLA in pool play in order to qualify for the final against Apex. That’s incredible stuff for a D3 club. And that’s another thing to note about Apex’s dominance; they haven’t been playing the best competition (not my view – statistically) as it compares around the nation. So we can’t yet judge just how good Apex are. They’ve definitely got a good pool to make an impact in; any one of these teams could have a shocking Saturday and we could very well see Apex in the Cup playoffs come Sunday morning.
