Wheeling, W. Va. - After getting one final taste of 15's play last week, the Wheeling University Rugby team returns to 7's play as they continue through their spring season. They will head to their second tournament of the spring on Saturday when they travel to the University of Notre Dame for the Irish 7's, with the first game at 9 AM. 32 rugby teams from across the nation will converge on South Bend Indiana, all with the goal of qualifying for the 2022 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Collegiate Rugby 7's Championships at the end of May.
It has been a month since the Cardinals last competed in a 7's tournament, but when they did, they ended up winning the Pitt 7's tournament back in mid-February. They would open that tournament with a win over the Pitt Grey team and followed that up with their second shutout victory over Dayton. The team did not allow their first point until the third game of the day but were able to defeat West Chester 45-7 to move on to the Pitt 7's Championship. There, they faced the Pitt Blue team and scored the first 24 points to take control. The Panthers fought back with 12 unanswered points, but the Cardinals were able to hold on for the 24-12 victory.
Leading the way in that first 7's tournament of the year for Wheeling was sophomore Ayoub Jalli, who scored six tries during the day while converting eight conversion kicks for a total of 46 points on the day. Jalli's biggest efforts came in the first two games of the day, when he combined for five of his six tries and helped Wheeling get out to big leads in both of those games. As the day wrapped up, Jalli went from being a scorer to finding his open teammates and creating opportunities for them to get across the goal line and continue to score points for their team.
Some of the other Cardinal standouts on the day included freshman Chief Chipfumbu and sophomore Mohamed Haddar, both of which played big dividends during 15's season. After being held off the board in the first game, Haddar came back strong over the final three, scoring four tries and converting on a conversion kick. He came up especially big for his team in the championship game, scoring on two tries for his team and helping them to the 24-12 win. Chipfumbu had a big performance as well also adding four tries and one conversion kick. The freshman scored one try in each of the four games, using his quickness to get past the defense and into the end zone.
This weekend's Irish 7's will feature 32 teams across several levels of NCR Rugby all competing for a spot in the 2022 NCR Collegiate Rugby 7's Championships in May. The tournament is a 32-team, double elimination bracket with each team guaranteed to play at least two games. Wheeling will start their first-round game at 9 AM against Christendom College. The winner of their game will go on to play either Marian or St, Bonaventura in 2nd round action.
The Matchup
Saturday will mark the first ever meeting between the Cardinals and Crusaders as they open the Irish 7's tournament play. The Crusaders competed in a seven's tournament last weekend, going 5-1 in their six games. Overall, the team is 20-3 this season combining their fall and spring records and have lost just two games since the start of 7's play. It will be a test for Wheeling as they try to start their tournament off strong and move up the bracket throughout the weekend.
The Details
Kick-off for the first round Irish 7's game is scheduled for 9 AM on the campus of The University of Notre Dame. All the match information that you need, including matchups, schedules, and more, is available HERE.
