Wheeling, W. Va. - So far during the 2021-2022 season, fans at Bishop Schmitt Field have gotten the chance to see the Wheeling University Rugby team compete in 15's action this season. However, on Saturday they will get a taste of a different kind of Rugby when the team hosts the Nail City 7's beginning at 9 AM. 7's Rugby teams from around the area will all come to Wheeling, West Virginia where they will compete in tournament play for the chance to win the tournament trophy and earn an inside track to the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) playoffs in May.
The Cardinals have played in two different 7's tournaments already this season and have a combined record of 6-2 in their eight 7's contests. In their most recent tournament, Wheeling traveled to South Bend, Indiana for the Irish 7's, hosted by the University of Notre Dame. Things didn't go exactly as planned for the Cardinals, but they went 2-2 picking up wins in each of their bookend matches against Christendom and Tennessee. Head Coach Mike Geibel said he was slightly disappointed in his team's performance but was happy they were able to pick up wins in their first and last game of the night.
Leading the way for the Wheeling offense in that game was sophomore Mohamed Haddar, who scored a team-high three tries on the day to bring his 7's season total up to seven in two tournaments. The key to Haddar's success is his speed and ability to turn it up field when he needs to. He opened 7's season back in February with the Pitt 7's tournament, which saw him score four tries, including two in the championship game against the Pitt Blue team. As Haddar continues through 7's season, he looks to continue to be an asset for the Cardinals offense.
One player who had a breakout day for the Cardinals was sophomore Jose Oltra, who scored a season-high two tries on the day. He was responsible for the team's only score in the loss to Kentucky and added another try when he scored during the Christendom match to start the day. Sophomore Ayoub Jalli scored just one try on the day, but was accurate in his conversion kicks, helping Wheeling to add the two points after their tries more often than not. While the Cardinals have some things they would like to work on, they still saw a big momentum shift in that final game that they can take with them into this tournament.
For Wheeling, their time to qualify for the NCR Collegiate 7's playoffs is coming down to the wire as the calendar turns to April. They have four more 7's tournament on their schedule, including the Nail City 7's this Saturday, to try and earn their spot in the playoffs. After hosting the tournament this weekend, Wheeling will head to the WVU 7's next week followed by the Tropical 7's on April 16th. These will be the two biggest chances for the Cardinals to qualify and once again get to play Rugby on the national stage as they did back in December.
The Matchups
Alderson Broaddus: The Cardinals and Battlers will be meeting for the fifth time in team history to open up the Nail City 7's tournament Saturday at 9 AM. Wheeling has won each of the four previous meetings between the two teams and are averaging 32.5 points per game against the Battlers. Their last meeting was a 10's match back in October, where Wheeling picked up wins of 31-7 and 40-0 against the Battlers on their home field. In both games, they jumped out to an early lead and were able to ride that momentum for the rest of the match.
Robert Morris: The Cardinals and Colonials will be meeting for the first time in team history on Saturday in what will be Wheeling's second match of the day. The Colonials finished the fall season with a record of 5-2 and are opening up their spring season on Saturday. The Cardinals are looking to hand RMU their first loss of the spring season as they continue Nail City 7's tournament play.
The Details
The Nail City 7's tournament will kick-off on Saturday with the Wheeling vs. Alderson Broaddus game with kick-off scheduled for 9 AM. You can follow along with the tournament central page by clicking HERE or watch the tournament live by clicking HERE.
