Haven’t seen live rugby? It’s becoming much more common in Fairfield County, with several high schools now offering it as a club sport. And if there’s a match to watch this weekend, it very well could be Sunday, 1:30 p.m., at Central Middle School in Greenwich.
The Cardinals will be playing its annual season showdown with rival Xavier High School of Manhattan. For the past three years, Greenwich and Xavier have been the Northeastern United States representatives at the U.S. Rugby High School Tournament. Last year Greenwich went two for three in
Tier B and finished 13th in the nation. Xavier went undefeated in three games and finished as Tier B champs and ninth in the nation.

This year’s showdown should be a monumental collision. Both teams have players on the U.S. National team. Both teams are undefeated, even after leaving the country to get rugby lessons.

Greenwich traveled to Argentina during April vacation looking for a game and went two for two, beating the best club in Argentina along the way. Xavier went to Ireland for two weeks and defeated four clubs in two weeks.

Greenwich’s players on the National team include Paul Jarvis and Chris Rosa.

For more information on rugby, check out this local link: http://metnyrfu.org/MetUnionRugby/HighSchool/highschools.htm

And for a link to the Greenwich Rugby page: http://www.greenwichrugby.com/