On August 10th and 11th, the top 7s teams in the nation descended upon Madison, Wisconsin for the annual Club 7s National Championship. Four clubs from the TRU participated, two in the men’s division and two in the women’s.
HEB Lady Hurricanes
The Lady Hurricanes finished top of the RRRC table after three tournaments, and looked unstoppable coming out of the DFW area (or more specifically the HEB area) of Texas. Entering the competition they were the seventh overall seed, placed in Pool B with the San Diego Surfers, Slaughterhouse RFC, and the Chicago Lions Bonus Track. Day 1 saw HEB going 1-1-1; starting early with a tight win over Slaughterhouse, tying Chicago Lions Bonus Track 19-19, and finally falling to undefeated San Diego 29-7. Unfortunately this left them tied with Chicago Lions Bonus Track on points, and the overall point differential left them just shy of qualifying for the Cup quarterfinals. There was still one more to play on the end of Day 1, and HEB was matched against Orlando in the Bowl quarters. They ended the day on a high note, securing the victory 24-12 and moving forward for a chance to play for 9th.
On Day 2 HEB had a late start with the Bowl semifinal against Boston. It was a gritty match to the end, and it would only be a single-score game; Boston’s lone try being the one that sent them through. The final match of the day was the 11th/12th decider between East Palo Alto and HEB. Two massively physical sides, it was expected that this match would be a thriller; and it delivered. Two points separated HEB from the eventual victors, and the Lady Hurricanes would claim 12th in the country, a notable feat for a club only attending their second national tournament ever.

Dallas Harlequins (W)
The Dallas Harlequins qualified as an At-Large seed, thanks to their continued play in the RRRC qualifiers and strong overall performances. They were ranked 11th coming into the brackets, placed in Pool C with WAC, Boston, and NOVA. Dallas’ opening game showed they were playing above their ranking as they beat sixth ranked Boston 17-15. Their second game was a loss to WAC, but they bounced back in the final round with a 19-10 win over NOVA, giving them the rest of the day off as they prepared for Cup quarterfinals the next morning.
The Quins were paired against a strong Chicago North Shore side, who had only allowed 7 points the day before. It was a big ask for Dallas to step up, and they played admirably; Chicago North Shore eventually winning 32-0. Dallas then went into the Plate semifinals against Chicago Lions Bonus Track (there were three total Chicago women’s sides at Nationals.. Understandably confusing). In the Plate, the Quins matched the Bonus Tracks try for try, but a wayward conversion would be the difference between advancing to the Plate Final, and the Quins would play for 7th/8th. In the final game of the day, the Quins just couldn’t turn around their bad luck and struggled against the Oregon Sharks. They would go home 8th in the nation, better than their entering ranking, and only one of two TRU sides to qualify for the Cup quarterfinals.

Dallas RFC (M)
After finishing second at all the RRRC qualifiers, Dallas RFC also qualified for Nationals as an At-Large seed. Ranked 12th overall, Dallas was in Pool H with the Denver Barbarians, White Plains, and Olympic Club. Dallas couldn’t have asked for a better start as they toppled White Plains 21-7 in the first match of the day. They wanted to keep the train moving against the Denver Barbarians but the third-ranked Barbos proved too strong, felling the Reds 22-12. In the final match of the day, Dallas knew it was all or nothing; win and move on to the Cup rounds or lose and fall into the Bowl. White Plains threatened, but only for a moment; Dallas blazed the way to a 31-12 win and secured their place in the Cup quarterfinals.
Kicking off Day 2, Dallas played in the fourth quarterfinal against undefeated Belmont Shore. The Californian Kings were too good on the day and kept Dallas on the back foot for the majority of the match, cruising to a 31-7 win. Now playing in the Plate semifinal, Dallas were matched against the hard-hitting Detroit Tradesmen who had snuck by fellow TRU team the Austin Huns, eliminating them from the Cup rounds on Day 1. Playing far above their entry ranking of 9th, the Tradesmen kept the ball moving and scored thrice against Dallas on their way to a 19-10 win. Dallas were determined to finish on a high note in their final game of the day, playing for 7th/8th place. However, Philadelphia-based Schuylkill River (pronounced Skoo-kill) brought their A-game to protect their entry ranking of 7th. It was a back and forth battle, and in the end, only a conversion would give Schuylkill the win 14-12. Dallas would depart Wisconsin finishing 8th; higher than their entry ranking of 12th; with some good lessons learned.

Austin Huns (M)
The Austin Huns won all three RRRC Qualifiers this year, and looked to have one of their strongest teams yet entering Club 7s Nationals. They were seeded eighth and housed in Pool E alongside two-time National Champions NAV, the Detroit Tradesmen, and Santa Monica. The tournament started off rocky when the Huns dropped the opening game 26-19 to a strong Tradesmen side. Austin was forced to scramble the remainder of Day 1 as they needed two wins to advance to the Cup rounds or an upset by another team in their pool. Things were looking up by the second match as the Huns defeated Santa Monica 19-17, but the biggest challenge was still ahead. Two-time National Champions NAV proved their worth as they sliced through Austin 36-7; dropping the Huns into the Bowl competition for the rest of the weekend. The same as the HEB Lady Hurricanes, the Huns were forced to play their Bowl quarterfinal at the end of a tiring Day 1. A thrilling encounter that went into sudden death, it was the Huns who scored the golden try to advance over Tennessee Elite.
On Day 2, Austin took on White Plains in their effort to secure the Bowl. Perhaps a bit groggy from their workload the day before, Austin allowed White Plains to take an early lead and struggled to bite their way back before the 14 minutes were up. Full-time saw Austin drop to the New York-based side 26-7. In the final game of the day, the Huns played New York Old Blue, who usually found themselves in the Cup playoffs, but had a disappointing run in 2024. Perhaps keen to let out some frustration on their final ranking; Old Blue took it to the Huns in an unstoppable fury that saw them claim 11th place with a final score of 26-5. The Austin Huns would finish 12th overall.
