The bulk of the Wolverine’s spring schedule is set. The club will focus completely on 7s in a Spring 2022 schedule that features a tour to Arizona and Southern California and four tournaments in the Midwest.
Michigan Rugby will kick off its spring on February 25 when select players travel to Arizona and Southern California during the University’s spring break. Players will have the opportunity to scrimmage the local college teams as they prepare for the season. Expect to hear more information on the tour in the coming days.
After returning to campus on March 6, the Wolverines will have a three week hiatus as they wait for the Michigan snow to melt. Then the team will jump back into action at Notre Dame 7s on March 26.
This year, for the first time, Big Ten Rugby will use a “series” format for its 7s competition. Teams will earn points based on the results of three separate tournaments, and then the team with the most points will be declared champion. In past years, the Big Ten champion was determined using the results of one tournament.
Illinois 7s in Champaign, IL is the first leg of the series, and Purdue 7s in West Lafayette, IN is the second leg. Mark your calendars for April 16. The third and final leg of the series is set to be at home in Ann Arbor, MI.
It’s possible Michigan also participates in an exhibition tournament on April 30, although this is yet to be determined. And the team will shoot to qualify for a national tournament in May.
In previous springs, Michigan ran a developmental XVs side concurrently with the competitive 7s sides. This year, the club has decided to drop all XVs play, and have all players participate in 7s. The idea is that this will make players more well-rounded for the primary XVs season in Fall 2022.
