The road to the 2024 RRRC Championship may end in Houston, but it begins this weekend as our Men’s Division 2 teams battle it out to qualify for the Championship match on Sunday April 21st, 2024.
The Men’s Division 2 season started in December 2023, consisting of a ten team pool where everyone played each other once, home or away. After the regular season, the top four teams advance to semifinals with 1v4 and 2v3, higher seed hosting. With that being said, below are your 2024 Men’s Division 2 Semifinal match-ups.
San Antonio (1) vs Dallas RFC (4)
First up, top of the table San Antonio hosts the fourth place Dallas RFC. San Antonio are 8-1 on the season, with an impressive 206 PD which placed them above number two HURT. San Antonio have had a stellar season, with their only loss coming in December; which was last year so does it even count? Well, when you consider that it was against Dallas RFC, I’d say it’s a bit of a talking point. Since that 48-20 loss in Dallas, San Antonio have been unstoppable. They took down the Austin Blacks 29-26 and two weeks later toppled HURT in Houston 40-31. San Antonio are on a hot streak, and it looks like nothing will stand in their way from being back to back Men’s D2 RRRC Champions.
On the other side of this match up are the men in red from Dallas RFC. Dallas are no strangers to the postseason, and were victors in this same fixture at the 2022 RRRC Championships in Austin, TX. Dallas enter with a regular season record of 7-2, and are coming off a close loss to Grand Prairie 15-10 on March 23rd. Their only other loss from this season is the 28-7 loss at the hands of HURT back in February. They are sure to be disappointed on losing out on the third seed entering playoffs, but perhaps are luckier as they have defeated San Antonio already this season, and as they say, history likes to repeat itself. Dallas have a bit of a dramatic flare as they seem to enjoy keeping games heart-stoppingly close. In fact, five of their matches this season have been decided by one try or less, including their 25-23 win over the Austin Blacks. If there’s anything to be sure of with Dallas, it’s that it ain’t over till it’s over.
HURT (2) vs Austin Blacks (3)
Hosting our second Men’s Division 2 semifinal are the men from Houston United Rugby Team, currently ranked number second in the standings. Wait, déjà vu right? That’s right, Austin Blacks have played HURT in the Men’s D2 semifinal for the past three playoff seasons. Now in all three matches, it was the Austin Blacks who emerged on top (2023 26-25, 2022 46-21, 2019 25-24), but this could very well be HURT’s year. HURT are 8-1 from regular play, their only loss at the hands of San Antonio during the last match of the season. Outside of that, HURT have been outstanding, demolishing all that stood in their way. Their regular season match against the Austin Blacks was a 17-14 win at Burr Field, and everyone knows it is not easy to beat the Blacks at home. HURT enter the postseason hungry and ready for anything, if there is a time for HURT to come out on top, it’s now.
It would be an understatement to say that the Austin Blacks are no strangers to the postseason. The Blacks haven’t missed out on a D2 playoff season since 2013 when all I could find was D3 results. And if you’ve been around longer than I, you don’t need to be told that the Blacks D2 side is very good. Surprisingly they are 6-3 from regular season play, the worst record in the final four. Now you may be asking how they managed to secure the third seed if they have the worst record; and I have an answer. The Blacks are very very good at scoring points. They have the highest number of bonus points in the Men’s Division 2, and the highest points differential. They have scored more than four tries in seven of nine matches, and gotten losing bonus points for coming within seven in all three of their losses. So whenever I write that bonus points matter, just remember the 2024 Austin Blacks D2. So yes, they’ve lost three games; all to the other teams in the playoffs, and by a combined margin of eight points over those three losses. Something tells me that if you watch one game this weekend, you might just want to make it this one.
