| Tiger Rugby boys messing around in Indiana. |
Tiger Rugby: Simply put, Tiger Rugby are stacked. They are loaded with talent that performed extremely well at nationals as well as throughout the season. Captaining the side is Zach Pangelinan. He's as experienced as they come and should give them a great kicking option. Peter Tiberio also joins the team. He's playing for a place on the national team this weekend with a strong performance. Other strong players include Logan Collins, Kyle Hitt, and Max De Achaval from last weekend's runners-up Denver Barbarians. Teammate Taylor Howden, who didn't compete for the Barbarians last weekend but did win gold in 7's at the Maccabiah team, will also be on the team.
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Michael Ziegler, Dom Mauer, and Trevor Tanifum join the team from 1823 while Perry Baker joins from Daytona. Of course 1823 is one of the main Tiger Rugby teams while Daytona is an affiliate team. Lastly, Kelly Kolberg and Chad Joseph join from the Dallas Reds.
Overall the Tigers should be an extremely quick and savvy team. Playmaking will be strength for the team. Pangelinan, De Achaval, and Tiberio have all excelled in that role this summer. Kicking should also be a strength. Pangelinan, De Achaval, Tiberio, and Howden can all kick. That may be huge as the Tigers face potential match-ups against teams like Serevi. The Tigers may also be the best balanced team at the tournament. They have speed and size and will look to use both equally. Trevor Tanifum and Perry Baker are flat out fast. Players like Logan Collins and Kyle Hitt will do a good job at providing power. Credit to coaches James Walker and Paul Holmes for putting together a strong side.
Squad: Zach Pangelinan, Michael Ziegler, Logan Collins, Dom Mauer, Kelly Kolberg, Chad Joseph, Taylor Howden, Max De Achaval, Trevor Tanifum, Kyle Hitt, Perry Baker, Peter Tiberio
Mexico: Mexico solidified their place as the third best team in North America at last year's NACRA 7's where they beat Jamaica for third place. The win allowed the team to compete for a spot on the IRB Sevens Series via the pre-qualifer in Hong Kong. Unfortunately the team didn't win a match, losing to Russia, Zimbabwe, and the Cook Islands. Despite those results the team has consistently been improving over the last several years. Part of that is due to their activity. The team has been extremely active in participating in as many tournaments as they can. Only a short time ago they competed in the Denver 7's. They also participated in the Elite division of last year's Las Vegas Invitational. They finished pool play 0-3 with losses to Belgium, the Serevi Selects, and the Edmonton Elite. The did however win their Shield semi-final. Mexico may not have the same athletes as other teams in the competition but they are smart and they play attractive rugby. Give the right circumstances this weekend they could easily be one of the top two teams in their pool.
Cayman Islands: The islanders are another team that has been extremely active. Like Mexico they have participated in a number of tournaments in an effort to improve. In the past years they have traveled to the Vancouver 7's and other tournaments. They have also been active in bringing teams to their country. They are still a developing team and with a lack of players on the island results have suffered at times, including at last year's NACRA 7's. Ex-Canada player Morgan Williams leads the team which should help. The team is also going to be hosting this year's NACRA 7's and is looking for every opportunity to do well at their own tournament.
Squad: Mark Soto, Edward Westin, Paul Westin, Jonathan Murphy, Richard Lewis, Chris Kennedy, Josh Brown, Chris Palmer, Alex Harvey, Mike Wilson, Andrew Ibeh & Phil Fourie
French Armed Forces: Before writing off this team, consider that they were runners-up at last year's competition to the highly-regarded British Army side. The French are no slouches are rugby and often their team's include players from Polynesian Islands. Expect them to be a very organized team that boasts great fitness.
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