This Saturday, history will be made, in Memphis, Tennessee. For the first time, the United States will have a professional women’s rugby sevens league – Premier Rugby Sevens. Known as PR7s, the league features four teams competing in a one-day tournament. Beyond Women’s Sports has all the details of the tournament, including who’s competing, how to watch this historic event and more.
The Event
PR7s is a one-day tournament, that will expand in 2022. To start, four brand new teams compete in a fast fours tournament. The four squads play three preliminary round matches, against all three opponents.
Rugby sevens is fast-paced, with two seven-minute halves. Each team has seven players on the field at a time, with the goal of scoring more points than their opponent. When a player taps the ball, with possession, in the tryzone (similar to an endzone in American football), their team gets five points; known as a try.
The scoring team then gets the chance at two more points, with a conversion kick. If the ball goes through the uprights, they secure the extra points.
Watching is the best way to learn about the sport. For full rules, USA Rugby provides a quick guide here.
Here are the teams and names to watch.
The Teams
PR7s features four professional teams. Each side has a mix of Olympians, international talent and amateur players, chosen from a league tryout. In total, every team has 12 players, with many coming in from the amateur ranks. That gives athletes the chance to prove themselves against some of the best in the United States national team pool.
First up are the Experts.
Experts
Captaining the Experts is Olympian Kristi Kirshe. The former college soccer star picked up rugby in college and hasn’t looked back. Kirshe premiered for the USA Rugby Eagles in 2019. In 2021, Kirshe traveled to Tokyo to compete for Team USA in the rugby sevens event.
Joining Kirshe are two other players from the USA national team pool. Summer Harris Jones and Sui A’au both played for the USA in September’s HSBC Rugby Sevens tournament, where the United States placed second in both weekend events.
Headliners
The Headliners, sporting a guitar head logo, features two Olympians. Kristen Thomas is a USA veteran, playing six years at the national level. Thomas began her rugby journey in college too, like Kirshe, but it was her main sports focus. As a collegiate standout, Thomas made the Women’s Collegiate All-American tour twice, in 2013 and 2014.
Alongside Thomas is fellow Olympian Naya Tapper. On top of Tapper’s role as captain, she is an ambassador for the new league, assisting with both tryouts and the Team USA/PR7s Talent Transfer Project. Through the project, USA Rugby identifies athletes that haven’t played rugby, but possess the skills to compete at the highest level.
Loggerheads
Right away, the Loggerheads dealt with a roster concern. Team captain, and Olympian, Abby Gustaitis was ruled out of the tournament, due to injury. However, Gustaitis is still with the team this week to help with strategy and coaching.
Even without Gustaitis, the Loggerheads are filled with talent. Kayla Canett and Jazmine Gray are the names to watch. Canett played in Tokyo with other USA talent, and both played in the Canada Sevens tournament. Gray was a stand out in Vancouver and Edmonton, scoring 10 tries combined.
The Loggerheads also feature a non-USA international. Brazilian Isadora Cerullo won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. Cerullo also played in the 2016 Summer Games, in her home country.
Loonies
Alev Kelter, leading try scorer in United States rugby sevens history, leads the final team. Kelter and Loonies teammate Joanne Fa’avesi each have two Olympic games in their careers, 2016 and 2020. On paper, their experience will especially help when the roster has just six days to build chemistry before Saturday’s competition.
A name not in any international pool is Amanda Hull. The Kansas City, Missouri native played locally until PR7s announced tryouts. Hull spoke with Beyond Women’s Sports about her move from amateur to professional rugby. Watch for Hull’s interview on Thursday.
How to Watch
The entire fast four tournament takes place Saturday, starting at 10:50 a.m. ET, with the Loggerheads taking on the Headliners. See below for a full schedule.
Each preliminary round match airs live on FoxSports.com or the Fox Sports app. The top two ranked squads compete in the championship at 5:00 p.m. ET, with the consolation match kicking off at 4:10 p.m. ET. Both final matches air live on FS2.
Autozone Park, in Memphis, Tennessee, hosts the landmark event in USA rugby history. For people in the area, or willing to travel, tickets are available at the league’s official website.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more from Premier Rugby Sevens. Thomas Costello is also on Twitter. Follow him @1ThomasCostello.
