Tuscaloosa, AL - South Carolina claimed its second SCRC tournament win in as many weeks. Once again the Gamecocks met Tennessee in the Cup Final, this time winning 29-17 over the Volunteers.
With nine teams competing in the competition, the field was divided into three pools. Each team played two pool matches, and then the field was reseeded with everyone making the Cup playoffs. The eighth and ninth seeded teams were forced into a play in game for the right to take on the number one overall seed.
The Gamecocks dispatched both their pool opponents handily, defeating Georgia 32-0 and Vanderbilt 45-5. With the large point differential, South Carolina earned the top overall seed and met Auburn in the Cup quarterfinals. After a 41-0 win, the Gamecocks defeated LSU in the semifinals.
Tennessee finished 2-0 in pool play with an opening match victory over Auburn and a narrow 21-20 win over Mississippi State. Tennessee outlasted Florida in the quarters before eliminating Alabama in the semis by a 28-19 score line.
The Volunteers jumped on the Gamecocks early scoring two tries. South Carolina countered with a couple of their own scores, but another Tennessee try left the game 17-10 at the break. The Volunteers used their big pack to drive up the middle and, once they got behind the Gamecock defense, find space for their speedsters.
"We were sitting back a little bit on defense and they had a couple of breaks allowing 3 tries in the first half," South Carolina 7s coach Steve Darnell said. "If we could get a 1v1 with our wing or our fly we were pretty confident about getting a line break. We just did not have possession we would have liked in the first half to do that. Too many turnovers in our own end from the attack allowed Tennessee to apply pressure and capitalize on penalties."
At the break, South Carolina made several key substitutions. Zac Gorman and Mike Mahon came in as props. Both are strong defensive players and led the charge in blanking Tennessee in the second half.
"They were instrumental in the second half in shutting them out and retaining possession," Darnell said of his props. "Each secured key turnovers that stifled Tennessee's attack, as well as turned up the defensive pressure for the second half."
South Carolina scored three unanswered tries in the second half in route to a 29-17 victory for their second consecutive SCRC 7s tournament victory. "The second half was a different story with nearly all play on Tennessee's end of the pitch," said Darnell. "Continuous defensive pressure and quality possession resulted in the tries and no threats from Tennessee's attack."
Freshman Christian Harrell has played both prop and center for the Gamecocks. "He has speed and he is very strong so he can play both positions," Darnell added. He has scored a number of tries and played superb defense for the Gamecocks. In addition, Brian Keown at scrumhalf has been very effective at disrupting ball in the set piece and leading a potent attack. Sean Barnes added interior line breaks to the Gamecock attack and finished two for tries, as did Brett DeBoy and Tim Hamill who led the team in scoring.
"We exhibited some improvement in the tournament overall from last week's performance in Gainesville," said Darnell. "This was especially evident defensively allowing only two tries in the four matches leading to the finals. Scoring improved as well with no less than five tries per match."
South Carolina and Tennessee have emerged as the top two teams in the SCRC 7s series and have clinched the one and two seeds for the qualifier tournament. If things go on script, the two are on a collision course for the right to go to Philadelphia. The final stop of the SCRC 7s series, however, before the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship qualifier, will be held in Tupelo Miss. next weekend.
When asked if he had any final thoughts, Darnell added, "I am very proud of the dedication and work from the sevens team this season with the understanding that there is much more to be done to complete the season."
Carolina Point Earners
Sean Barnes: 2 Tries
Thomas Coar: 2 Tries
Dana Corcoran: 1 Try
Brett DeBoy: 6 Tries
Zac Gorman: 4 Tries
Tim Hamill: 7 Tries / 5 Conversions
Christian Harrell: 5 Tries
Brian Keown: 3 Tries / 8 Conversions
Photos
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