The first rugby matches of the spring season for several collegiate clubs around the state of Florida will kick off this Saturday, Jan. 19. While most clubs still have a week or two more to rest before their respective Florida Rugby Union (FRU) seasons begin, four of the teams will participate in either scrimmages or matches for the first time in 2013.
These schools include Tampa Bay’s University of South Florida (USF) Bulls Rugby Football Club (RFC), Fort Myers’ Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Eagles RFC, Ava Maria, Florida’s Ave Maria University (AMU) Papists, and Gainesville’s University of Florida (UF, Florida) Lady Gators RFC all hit the pitch around Florida.
USF hosts Valdosta in scrimmage
The USF Bulls RFC will host the Valdosta (Ga.) State University (VSU) Blazers RFC this Saturday. The two clubs will conduct a scrimmage that begins at 2 p.m Saturday. The scrimmage will be played on the Magnolia Fields at the USF campus, in Tampa, Fla.
AMU will host FGCU
The AMU Papists RFC will host the FGCU Eagles RFC this Saturday at 2 p.m. on the campus of Ave Maria University. This official FRU sanctioned match, which had originally been scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 26, was bumped up a week. Therefore, this will be the first FRU sanctioned collegiate match for the 2013 Spring Rugby Season.
The address for Ave Maria University is 5050 Ave Maria Blvd, Ave Maria, Fla. 34142. To learn more about this game and to RSVP for the match, please visit the Facebook event page.
Match tentatively scheduled between UF Lady Gators and GSU Lady Eagles
At the time of publishing, all of the details had yet to be finalized. However, the UF Lady Gators RFC is scheduled to play the Georgia Southern University (GSU) Lady Eagles RFC Saturday at 2 p.m.
The decision has not been made as to whether this match will be played on UF’s campus in Gainesville, Fla., or GSU’s campus in Statesboro, Ga. The Rugby Examiner will update this information as it becomes available.
Youth rugby matches scheduled across Florida this Saturday
In addition to the collegiate club action across Florida on Saturday, there will be three youth matches played around the state this weekend.
The Boca Raton Under-16 Club will host the Miami Rugby Under-16 Club at Don Estridge Middle School in Boca Raton. Kickoff time for the match is 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Orlando Griffins RFC Under-19 Club will host the Naples Bears (High School) A-Side at University High School in Orlando, Fla. This match will kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Deltona RFC will play the Naples Bears (High School) B-Side at University High School in Orlando, Fla. This game is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Learn more about rugby around Florida and across America
For more information about Rugby around the state of Florida, please visit the website and Facebook page for the Florida Rugby Union, and the website and Facebook page for Rugby in Florida. For scores and additional rugby news from across America and around the world, visit the website and Facebook page for RUGBYMAG.
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