Global Youth Sevens Wrap Up: BC Bears Finish 13th, MacDowell Girls 23rd, MacDowell Boys 35th in 72 Team Tournament
It is the premier youth 7s tournament in the world, 72 teams, 40 boys and 32 girls, converge on NZ each December for elite rugby 7s. This year there were 6 teams from North America, 3 from Canada and 3 from USA. The 3 Canadian teams were BC girls, the MacDowell Academy girls and the MacDowell Academy boys. The MacDowell Academy is based in Cowichan on Vancouver Island with academies across western Canada in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The USA sent two national teams USA girls and USA boys, the Belmont Shore club in California also sent a boys team.
The tournament was won by NZ in both boys and girls this year. Last year Japan had won the girls division and Australia the boys division. In fact this year 3 of the top 4 teams in both boys and girls came from NZ. Japan again were the top non-NZ team in girls and Australia in boys.
How did the North American teams fare? The tournament was divided into Division 1 (cup, plate, bowl) and Division 2 (cup, plate). The Division 1 bowl was for boys only to accommodate the extra 8 teams. So for boys Division 1 cup ranked 1 to 8, plate 9 to 16, bowl 17 to 24; Division 2 cup 25 to 32, plate 33 to 40. For the girls Division 1 cup ranked 1 to 8, plate 9 to 16; Division 2 cup 17 to 24, plate 25 to 32.
The BC Bears girls team found themselves in the Division 1 Plate competition after pool play, they lost their QF but won the Plate runner up semi-final and final to finish in 13th spot. The MacDowell girls were in the Division 2 cup competition after pool play, they lost their QF and semi-final and finished up 23rd/24th. The MacDowell boys were in the Division 2 plate competition after pool play, they won their QF but lost their semi-final to finish 35th/36th.
The USA national teams finished 9th (boys) and 11th/12th (girls). Belmont Shore finished 19th/20th.
These results give a good idea of what results to shoot for next year. BC have already stated their sending a boys and girls team next year, MacDowell Academy have indicated they’re going back next year. Rugby Canada haven’t announced their high-performance plans for U18 yet. The fact that Japan have finished consistently top 4 in this U18 tournament indicates the strength of their program, they’ve defeated Canada 3 times in a row at the senior level so far this year. That’s no coincidence, it’s high performance planning. Based on the USA results you would think a Canada national U18 team would expect to finish in the 8 to 12 range, the program could evaluate its progress on whether it met, exceeded or failed to meet the goals. A provincial side could expect to finish in the 13 to 18 range, the BC Bears girls met expectations this year with 13th. In 2024 the BC Bears girls finished 17th and the boys finished 19th/20th. For the Academy sides it’s mostly a learning experience, a chance to evaluate individual players and a chance for players to grow. Last year the MacDowell girls finished 21st and the boys 32nd.
Kudos to the coaches and players who made the effort to play the best in the world at this age level. One of the teams that made the final four in the girls competition was NZ based Rugby Vault, coached by our old friend David Mays who spent many years in BC.
Day 3 results
BC Bears
Girls Division 1 Plate – Quarter Final: New Edition 17 – BC Bears 12
Girls Division 1 Plate – Runner Up Semi Final: BC Bears 36 v PIR 10
Girls Division 1 Plate – Runner Up Final: BC Bears 38 – NZ Babas 10
MacDowell Girls
Girls Division 2 Cup – Quarter Final: Cook Islands 17 – MacDowell 5
Girls Division 2 Cup – Runner Up Semi Final: MacDowell 12 v Queensland 17
MacDowell Boys
Boys Division 2 Plate – Quarter Final: MacDowell Boys 26 v Saints Academy 14
Boys Division 2 Plate – Semi Final: NZ Irish 45 v MacDowell 0
Global Youth Sevens Day 2 Updates: BC Bears in Division 1 Plate QF, MacDowell Girls in Division 2 Cup QF, MacDowell Boys in Division 2 Plate QF
Day 2 of the Global Youth Sevens wrapped up and the BC Bears girls team ended up highest ranked of the three BC teams. The tournament playoffs are divided into the following categories. Division 1: Cup, Plate, Bowl and Division 2 Cup, Plate. The BC Bears went 1-1 on Day 2 giving them a 2-2 record overall and entry in the Division 1 Plate competition. They’ll face New Edition in the Division 1 Plate Quarter-Final. New Edition from what we can see are a select side of NZ high school and club players. The MacDowell girls are in the Division 2 Cup quarter-finals, also going 1-1 on Day 2, they’ll face the Cook Islands. The MacDowell boys are in the Division 2 Plate quarter-finals, they’ll face Saints Academy, a sports academy based in Sydney.
The teams in the Division 1 cup quarter-finals for girls are NZ v Central Storm, Rugby Vault v Pacific Tribe, Australia v NZ Cavaliers, Australia Schools v Japan. On the boys draw the Cup semi-finals are NZ v NZ Cavaliers and Australia v Aotearoa Maori.
A shout out to some of the coaches with BC connections. The Rugby Vault coach is David Mays who spent many years coaching in BC, the BC Bears coaches are Darcy Patterson and Rob Jones, and of course, Robin MacDowell who not only runs the MacDowell Academy but is coaching the girls team in this tournament.
BC Bears (2-2)
BC 24 – Australia Cavaliers
Australia 36 – BC 17
MacDowell Girls (2-2)
MacDowell 26 – Jasipa 12
HB Coast 29 – MacDowell 5
MacDowell Boys (0-4)
Southern Sports Academy 29 – MacDowell 14
Toa Worldwide 54 – MacDowell 14
Global Youth Sevens Day 1 Updates: BC Bears 1-1, MacDowell Girls 1-1, MacDowell Boys 0-2
The BC Bears girls team went 1-1 on Day 1 defeating Queensland but losing a close one to China. They have a tough Day 2 facing the full Australia U18 team and the Australia Cavaliers. The Australia U18 team are one of the tournament favourites they defeated the NZ U18 team in their opening match. Japan won the girls tournament last year, over Australia, and are also undefeated on Day 1.
The MacDowell girls also went 1-1, they lost to Samoa NZ before defeating Bay Fire in their second match. Bay Fire are a team from the Hawkes Bay region of NZ. On Day 2 they face HB Coast, from the Hibiscus Coast region north of Auckland and Jasipa from Fiji. Those are good matchups for MacDowell, HB Coast lost to China 27-0 and then beat Jasipa 25-5.
The MacDowell boys went 0-2 losing to a strong NZ Fijians team and then losing a close match to Mangere, a team from South Auckland. On Day 2 they face Southern Sports Academy a team from New South Wales in Australia, a team that also lost both Day 1 matches, including a 47-31 loss to Toa Worldwide. MacDowell face Toa in their other match, Toa Worldwide are a Barbarians style team with players from South Africa to NZ, they are 1-1 on Day 1 losing to Otago.
BC Bears (1-1)
Day 1
BC 27 – Queensland 0
China 24 – BC 21
Day 2
BC v Australia Cavaliers
BC v Australia
MacDowell Girls (1-1)
Day 1
Samoa NZ 20 – MacDowell 10
MacDowell 21 – Bay Fire 10
Day 2
MacDowell v HB Coast
MacDowell v Jasipa
MacDowell Boys (0-2)
Day 1
NZ Fijians 33 – MacDowell 0
Mangere 21 – MacDowell 14
Day 2
MacDowell v Southern Sports Academy
MacDowell v Toa Worldwide