The local “Moore League all-star team” of youth rugby players traveled to Utah last weekend, and came home as officially the fourth-best team in the nation, as Belmont Shore’s U19 team did Long Beach proud.

They started with a 33-0 win over Dowingtown Pennsylvania, but then ran into a buzzsaw in the form of top-seeded Highland Rugby Club.  Highland has beaten their opponents this year by an average of 74 points, so it actually seems like an accomplishment to only lose 31-0—Highand’s second-lowest point total of the season.

That loss put them in the third-place consolation game, where they lost in literally the last seconds of the match, 20-19, to Katy Rugby from Houston, after a penalty put the local boys down one.

For a team that’s only existed for two years (the U19 program is brand new at Belmont), it was quite an accomplishment, and only three players will be too old to compete next year, so you can expect to hear more about them.  For the high school players in the area, it’s off to Spring football practice.

Please enjoy this wonderful photo essay by our guy John Fajardo, who traveled with the team and has provided a few incredible glimpses of the team’s trip.  Congrats to Belmont Shore, and we’ll look forward to hearing more from you in the future!