Doylestown Girls Take Second in Rugby Nationals

It’s a sport that may not draw the same attention of soccer, softball or field hockey, but the Doylestown girls’ rugby squad made a name for itself in the USA 7s High School Rugby Championship this weekend at PPL Park in Chester.

The Doylestown team took second place in the national tournament, falling Sunday to San Diego's Fallbrook 41-3.

According to rugbymag.com, the local team was the surprise of the girls’ tournament with a pair of impressive wins. Doylestown defeated Fairport, 43-0, and West Shore United, 17-0, and Divine Savior 12-10 before squaring off against the tough Fallbrook team.

Leading the way for Doylestown was the outstanding play of Jane Riley, who leads the tournament with six tries scored.

The team is coached by Stacy Mancuso, who told rugbymag.com, “They’re (the players) taking this really seriously. We qualified in the fall, and they want this. We lost some players from last year and had to rebuild. Three of the returners are 9th graders, and as 13-year-olds, they’re working well with our seniors.”

Also according to the report on rugbymag.com:

Doylestown played in its first 7s tournament a couple of weekends ago and went winless in Delaware. Since that experience, the team dedicated themselves to making a good impression at the HSRC. They practiced three hours per day, five days per week and brought in 7s specialists to work the girls into shape. Mancuso also switched up the team’s former game plan of keeping the ball alive with offloads out of contact and expanded the attack to use the width of the field.

To keep up with the latest news in rugby, visit rugbymag.com. For more information on the Doylestown girls' high school team, visit the team's website.