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Georgia
The Rugby Radar
A ball's eye view from the scrum.
Issue 5 / Vol. 2026 / May 26
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Free. Every Tuesday evening. Every club, every level, every age across Georgia.
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📣 Issue 5 • What's Inside
Summer sevens is on. The South's biggest women's 7s lands in Lithonia, and every Georgia HS player now has a path onto a youth 7s side.
Also in this issue:
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A storied Atlanta club has a clock ticking. Adult Club Updates below.
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College Rugby Portal: 900+ programs, free, message coaches direct. College Corner below.
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L1 Coach course June 25. Train Up below.
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Hotlanta 7s early-bird ends June 1. Tournament Watch below.
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🎖 Lead Story
SATURDAY IN LITHONIA: COME WATCH THE SOUTH'S BIGGEST WOMEN'S 7S
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Saturday, May 30 • 5845 Hillvale Rd, Lithonia GA • Come Watch
PEACH PITCH 7S
Saturday, May 30, the largest women's-plus 7s tournament in the South takes over the Southeast Athletic Complex in Lithonia. It is hosted by Atlanta High Country Women's RFC, with Allison Smith Co. as premier sponsor, and it is a short drive for most of this list. So here is the pitch: bring the family, build the crowd, and watch senior women's 7s up close. This is the come-watch event of the weekend.
Clubs are already prepping. Gwinnett Lady Lions are confirmed in, and High Country has been promoting hard. If you want to see where women's rugby in this state is headed, this is the field to stand on. (It pairs nicely with the Atlanta Harlequins Women's D1 side opening their own summer 7s, more on that below.)
Off the pitch: the tournament's "Surrender Yer Booty!" social runs alongside the rugby, with drinks at Jolene Jolene (a brand-new women's sports bar) and an after-party at Lore. Rugby by day, good company after. You did not hear it from us.
Tickets →
Divisions and brackets on @peachpitchrugby7s. Info: peachpitchrugby7s@gmail.com.
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🏛 State News
THE GEORGIA RUGBY UNION'S 2026-27 COUNCIL IS SET
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The Georgia Rugby Union has made its 2026-27 Executive Council official, and the leadership map runs well beyond metro Atlanta. Drew Ferguson of Gainesville takes the presidency, with Pete Redmond of Augusta as vice president. Marcus Hall steps in as treasurer, Chris Cooper leads men's rugby, Grace Palumbo of Athens leads women's rugby, Steve Mace returns as Director of Youth Rugby, and Bertrand Valero rounds out the council as member at large.
One seat is still open: the secretary's chair is vacant, and the union is taking applications and recommendations. If you have ever wanted a hand in how the state runs its game, that door is open.
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🥍 Youth Clubs Across the State
GEORGIA YOUTH NOW HAVE A REASON TO PLAY YEAR-ROUND
Here is a quiet milestone: summer sevens is opening up to all of Georgia's youth, not just the chosen few. For years, unless a player was invited onto a selects or travel side, the youth game wrapped after the spring season and went dark until fall. That is starting to change. The inaugural Hotlanta YOUTH 7s on Saturday, June 13 in Atlanta gives any rising 9th-through-U19 player a local reason to keep playing through the summer, invitation or not, and that is how a season turns into a year-round habit. It raises a fair question: could summer 7s for every young player in the state become a trend? Only a handful of clubs are fielding sides this first summer, which is exactly what a brand-new thing looks like at the start. And a player does not need their own club to be fielding a side: clubs are sharing rosters, so anyone in that age range can find a spot.
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Who's gathering a side, and how to join
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Red Top Rugby HS (Atlanta Youth Rugby umbrella): confirmed fielding. Practicing Mondays and Wednesdays, 6 to 8 PM, Sam Smith Park, Cartersville.
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Exiles U19 Academy: summer 7s underway since May 12. Training Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 PM, Innovation Academy in Alpharetta. Reach the club through @exilesrugbyacademy to get on the roster.
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Forsyth Falcons: practicing Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30 PM, Fowler Park in Cumming. Email ForsythYouthRugby@gmail.com.
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Atlanta Valkyries (girls-only): in for the youth 7s. The state's only dedicated girls-only youth club. If you have a daughter who wants a team of her own, this is the one.
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No one has to sit out. Any HS-age player in Georgia who wants in on this first-time, close-to-home Hotlanta YOUTH 7s can reach out to one of the clubs above that is fielding a team, even if their own club is not gathering a side this year. Clubs sharing players is how a rugby state stays a rugby state. High tides rise all ships.
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Also running for youth this summer
Rebels Rugby GA: free Touch Tuesdays through July 4 and a Summer Skills & Drills Camp July 6 to 10 (see the Featured Club listing below for details).
Exiles juniors: Tuesday and Thursday youth sessions at North Park, Alpharetta, with the U19 Academy training at Innovation Academy.
Life University Women's Girls Camp: residential development camp for girls 13 to 17, July 23 to 29 in Marietta, all skill levels. Director Ryszard Chadwick (World Rugby Coach Educator), with current Life U players as counselors. Details at liferunningeagles.com.
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Club gathering a youth side we missed?
Tell us →
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🎓 Pathway
GRADUATION SEASON: DON'T LOSE THE KIDS
Every spring the same quiet thing happens across Georgia: a senior plays their last high school match and then vanishes from rugby. The gap between a high school program and a senior club is where this state loses players it just spent years building.
It doesn't have to go that way. This month Coach Gareth sent Rebels' graduating boys and girls off with a water bottle and a line worth keeping: "Once a Rebel, always a Rebel." Small gesture, big signal. The door stays open.
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Youth and HS clubs: you know who's graduating and where they're headed. Send us the names and their next town (tips@therugbyradar.com) and we'll help point them to a club nearby.
Senior and adult clubs, here's the challenge: these graduates are your next front row, so go get them. The clubs that grow are the ones that call their three nearest HS programs in May, show up to a practice, and say "there's a spot for you here." Tell us your recruitment game plan, or borrow one, and claim your spot on the "where to play next" landing-pad list so every graduating player knows your door is open.
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High tides rise all ships. Let's not lose a single player to the gap.
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🏉 Adult Club Updates
SUMMER 7S ACROSS THE STATE
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Lead
ATLANTA HARLEQUINS WOMEN OPEN SUMMER 7S
The Atlanta Harlequins Women, the only Division 1 women's side in the Southeast, kicked off summer 7s on May 19. Sessions run Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 to 9 PM. With Peach Pitch on May 30, it is a good summer to follow where senior women's rugby in Georgia is going. Find them at @ahwrfc.
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Worth Watching
THE RENEGADES HAVE A CLOCK TICKING
A countdown clock is live on atlantarenegades.com under a single line: "The Renegades Are Coming!" The club is saying precisely nothing about what it counts down to. A storied Atlanta men's side with something in the works, and no announcement to spoil it. We are not going to guess. Go watch the clock yourself at atlantarenegades.com and keep an eye on @atlrenegadesrfc.
Meanwhile the standing summer 7s rolls on: Mondays at Peachtree Middle School, Wednesdays at Larry Bell Park.
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Across the State
SUMMER 7S IS RUNNING WELL BEYOND THE METRO
Atlanta is not the whole story. Here is who is training and playing around Georgia this summer:
High Country (Peach Pitch's hosts): the women's side runs Peach Pitch on May 30, and the men's side is marking its 50th year. Summer 7s Tue/Thu at Coan Park, Decatur. @highcountrywrfc |
Savannah Shamrocks (Savannah): the back-to-back men's champions are still rolling on the coast. rugbysavannah.com |
Gwinnett Lions and Lady Lions (Lilburn): open 7s through the summer, and the Lady Lions are confirmed in for Peach Pitch. @gwinnettlionsrfc |
Atlanta Bucks (Atlanta's gay and inclusive club): training Mon and Wed, 7:30 to 9:30 PM. @atlantabucksrfc |
Columbus Cruisers (Columbus): men's and women's, Tue/Thu 7 PM with Saturday matches. @cruisersrugby |
Macon Love (Macon): practicing Tue/Thu, 6:30 PM. @maconloverugby |
Augusta (Augusta): the Maddogs and the Furies are both active. @augustarugby / @augusta.furies |
In the metro, Atlanta Old White's 7s season is also rolling, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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🎓 College Corner
SPRING'S DONE, SUMMER'S NEXT
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Georgia's college spring seasons have wrapped. UGA Men's closed out with end-of-season awards, UGA Women's has been running a senior-spotlight series worth a follow, and Georgia Tech Men's are already recruiting for the fall. Life University Women, off a national-title spring, turn next to their summer girls' development camp in Marietta, July 23 to 29 (see Mark Your Calendars).
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New • Your kid's rugby doesn't end at 18
A FREE SHORTCUT TO COLLEGE RUGBY
collegerugbyportal.com is a free national directory of more than 900 college rugby programs, men's and women's, D1 through club. Filter by state, league, scholarships, GPA, and tuition; build a recruiting profile; and message coaches directly. No paywall. It was built by Pat Cunningham, a youth rugby coach and founder of College Rugby Portal.
One caveat: treat it as a starting point, not gospel. Some program listings run out of date, so confirm the details straight with the school before you bank on them.
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🏆 Tournament Watch
WHAT'S COMING
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Sat May 30 • 5845 Hillvale Rd, Lithonia GA • Come Watch
PEACH PITCH 7S
The largest women's-plus 7s in the South, hosted by High Country Women's RFC at the Southeast Athletic Complex. Premier sponsor: Allison Smith Co. Tickets via Zeffy. Divisions and brackets on @peachpitchrugby7s.
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Sat Jun 13 • Atlanta • Come Watch
HOTLANTA YOUTH 7S (INAUGURAL)
First edition. USA Rugby sanctioned. CIPP required, 8 AM check-in, athletic trainer on-site. Tournament director: Chris Byerly (also Red Top president). Any rising 9th-through-U19 player in Georgia can join a side, see Youth Clubs Across the State above for who's fielding and how to get on a roster.
Tournament info →
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Sat Jul 25 • Atlanta • Early-bird ends Jun 1
HOTLANTA 7S (SENIOR)
Atlanta's biggest 7s tournament. Divisions: HS, College, Men's Social, Women's Social. USA Rugby sanctioned. Registration deadline matters: early-bird is $400 per team through May 31, then $450 on June 1, then $475 on July 1. Worth a dated note for any adult side in the audience.
Register →
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💬 Whispers from the Touchline
Lady Trydown
The anonymous dispatch on Georgia rugby. All rumor, all hearsay, all in good fun.
Dearest Reader,
The season turns to sevens, and with it the touchline fills with fresh intrigue. This Author has been listening, as ever, and offers four small dispatches for your amusement. Proceed.
First, this Author notes a wondrous thing: a club's newest appointment is known to every group chat and touchline well before a single official word is posted. One even hears of parents arriving to meet the new coach before the club has confirmed there is one. The pitch-side telegraph remains, as ever, undefeated. Why anyone troubles with announcements, this Author cannot say.
Second, a certain side has taken to displaying a ticking clock upon the parlour door, counting down to an unveiling about which they will say precisely nothing. This Author does adore a mystery, and a touch of theatrics never goes amiss. Watches synchronized, darlings, we shall all be there when the hour strikes.
Third, this Author is reliably informed that the one referee course every club so desperately needs sold out before most could even find it, buried as it was in that labyrinth they call a Learning Center. One course, for an entire state, and not a second sitting in sight. Whistles are now fought over like the last cucumber sandwich at tea. This Author will say it plainly: the demand is real, the need is urgent, and someone with the authority to schedule another ought to do so. The children, after all, are waiting to play.
And fourth, this Author has been admiring the published calendar of a certain organisation that pledges, in its very name, devotion to the young players of this state. A curious document: every fixture upon it unfolds somewhere else entirely, three different states, not one of them ours, and with nary an offer of help to ferry a child to any of them. This Author does so admire a wanderer's spirit. She merely wonders whether the young of this state might prefer a match they could reach by supper.
Until next week. Mind the offside line, mind the group chat, and do keep your whistle close.
xo, Lady Trydown
Need to get something off your chest? Whisper it to Lady Trydown: Email Lady Trydown • @LadyTrydown on Instagram. All sources remain anonymous. Obviously.
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🎓 Train Up
GET CERTIFIED
Every club needs more refs. Every club needs more coaches. GA Youth Rugby reimburses certification costs for active referees and coaches. Register through your USA Rugby Learning Center via Rugby Xplorer. (And yes, the demand is real. See above.)
| Thu Jun 25 • L1 Coach • Atlanta • $125 |
| Thu Jul 23 • L1 Coach • Atlanta • $125 |
| Jul 23-24 • L2 Coach (2-day) • Atlanta |
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📅 Mark Your Calendars
DATES THAT MATTER
🏆 Tournament 🏕 Camp 🎓 Training
| 🏆 Sat May 30 • Peach Pitch 7s, Lithonia GA. Come watch. |
| 🏆 Sat Jun 13 • Hotlanta YOUTH 7s (inaugural), Atlanta. Rising 9th to U19 welcome, come watch. |
| 🎓 Thu Jun 25 • L1 Coach Course, Atlanta. $125, GA Youth Rugby reimburses. |
| 🏕 Jul 6-10 • Rebels Summer Skills & Drills Camp, Roswell Area Park. Ages 5-14, registration open. |
| 🎓 Thu Jul 23 • L1 Coach Course, Atlanta. $125. |
| 🎓 Jul 23-24 • L2 Coach Course, Atlanta. |
| 🏕 Jul 23-29 • Life U Women's Girls Development Camp, Marietta. Girls 13-17, residential. |
| 🏆 Sat Jul 25 • Hotlanta 7s (senior), Atlanta. Early-bird ends Jun 1, come watch. |
| 🏕 Mon Aug 17 • Rebels Girls Rugby Camp, Roswell Area Park, 3-5 PM. |
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🥍 New to Rugby?
FIND A YOUTH CLUB
Boys, girls, all ages. Every club below welcomes beginners. No experience needed.
Featured Club Listing
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Rebels Rugby Youth GA
Every kid belongs on the pitch.
U6 to U18 coed • Greater Roswell, GA
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Touch Tuesdays, running now through July 4. Free drop-in, 7 to 8 PM at Roswell Area Park. All ages, all abilities. No registration needed, just show up. Details at rebelsrugbyga.com.
Summer Skills & Drills Camp, July 6 to 10. Ages 5 to 14, all skill levels, registration open. Register here.
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Want your club featured here? Get in touch for special charter season rates while available.
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🎓 Heading to College?
FIND A GA COLLEGE TEAM
Georgia colleges with active rugby. Men's, women's, both. Most are club-level and welcome beginners. If your kid is heading to one of these schools, the rugby team is a way in. (And for the full national picture, see the College Rugby Portal callout above.)
| Life University • Marietta • Men D1, Women D1, Club • 2026 national champions (women) liferunningeagles.com |
| University of Georgia • Athens • Men's club (SCRC), Women's club ugarugby.com |
| Georgia Tech • Atlanta • Men D2 (SCRC), Women's |
| Kennesaw State • Kennesaw • Men's, Women's |
| University of North Georgia • Dahlonega • Men's Nighthawks, Women's |
| Georgia College & State University • Milledgeville • Men's Bobcats, Women's |
| Valdosta State • Valdosta • Men's club |
| Georgia Southern University • Statesboro • Women's club active |
| Morehouse College • Atlanta • HBCU men's club |
| A college we missed? Tip the Radar → |
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🏉 Still Playing After 18?
FIND AN ADULT CLUB
Men's and women's clubs across the state. And rugby in Georgia is not just metro Atlanta: there are sides in Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Gainesville, Athens, Carrollton, and beyond. Whether you played in college, played as a kid, or never touched a ball, there's a squad for you.
| Atlanta Old White RFC • Atlanta • Men D2/D3, Women, 7s atlantarugby.com |
| Atlanta Harlequins Women's RFC • Atlanta • Women's D1 • Only D1 women's team in the Southeast @ahwrfc |
| Atlanta Renegades RFC • Atlanta • Men's • Summer 7s atlantarenegades.com |
| Exiles RFC • Alpharetta • Senior men's and women's • Tue/Thu 7 PM, Innovation Academy @exilesrugbyclub |
| Gwinnett Lions RFC • Lilburn • Men, Women • Open 7s Thu & Sat @gwinnettlionsrfc |
| Atlanta Bucks RFC • Atlanta • Gay and inclusive club • Mon/Wed 7:30 PM @atlantabucksrfc |
| High Country RFC • North Georgia • Men's (est. 1975), Women's • Hosts Peach Pitch @highcountryrugbyfc |
| Athens Eagles RFC • Athens • Men's D3, est. 2008 athensrugby.org |
| Macon Love RFC • Macon • Practice Tue/Thu 6:30 PM @maconloverugby |
| Columbus Cruisers RFC • Columbus • Men's & Women's • Tue/Thu 7 PM @cruisersrugby |
| Gainesville RUFC • Gainesville, GA • Est. 2017 @gainesvillerufc |
| Carrollton Norsemen RFC • West Georgia • Men, Women, HS • Est. 2022 @rugbycarrollton |
| Augusta Maddogs RFC • Augusta • Men's • Practice Tue/Thu 6:30 PM @augustarugby |
| Augusta Furies • Augusta • Women's D2 • Est. 1999 @augusta.furies |
| Savannah Shamrocks RFC • Savannah • Men's, Women's • Back-to-back champions rugbysavannah.com |
| Southern Touch Rugby (Atlanta Touch) • Fair Oaks Park, Marietta • Sundays + Wednesdays, all welcome @atltouchrugby |
| More Georgia clubs: georgiarugby.org/clubs |
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First TRY Discount
PUT YOUR CLUB ON THE RADAR
A standout card all your own. Logo, website, schedule link, socials. In front of every rugby family in Georgia, every Tuesday.
$100 total. Every issue through Dec 31, 2026.
That's about 33 issues. Roughly $3 a week to put your club in front of every rugby family in Georgia. First come, first served.
Claim Your Spot →
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GOT A TIP? HOSTING AN EVENT?
Send us your events, corrections, news, and tips. Tournament results, club updates, coaching announcements, alumni news. If it's rugby in Georgia, we want to hear it.
Email the Radar →
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THE RUGBY RADAR
A ball's eye view from the scrum.
Reading the web version? Subscribe here to get the next issue in your inbox. Already a subscriber and want out? Reply with unsubscribe and we'll take you off the list. No hard feelings.
therugbyradar.com • @therugbyradar • @LadyTrydown
Issue 5 • May 26, 2026 • © 2026 The Rugby Radar
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