| |
|
Georgia
The Rugby Radar
A ball's eye view from the scrum.
Issue 7 / Vol. 2026 / June 10
|
| |
|
Get the Radar
Subscribe to The Rugby Radar
Free. Every Tuesday evening. Every club, every level, every age across Georgia.
SUBSCRIBE →
|
|
|
This Issue's Sponsor
Rugby league has come to Atlanta, and the Atlanta Copperheads are recruiting this summer. Their full story is further down. copperheadsrlfc.com →
|
|
|
|
📣 Issue 7 • What's Inside
Summer's wide open: a marquee weekend of sevens, two camps taking names, and a pitch near you all over Georgia.
Also in this issue:
|
Where to play 7s and touch this summer, from the metro to Macon, Savannah and Augusta. Summer Play below.
|
|
The Renegades are counting down to something. Adult Club Updates below.
|
|
Two summer camps still taking names. Develop This Summer below.
|
|
A fresh whisper from Lady Trydown. Whispers below.
|
|
|
|
🎖 Lead Story
A BRAND-NEW HIGH SCHOOL 7S OPENS SATURDAY, JUNE 13 IN ATLANTA. GO WATCH.
You do not need a ticket, and you do not need a player in it. Georgia's first high-school sevens tournament has been circled on calendars for weeks, and the touchline of a first-year event is about as good a place as any to see what this sport is really about. At least one local side is locked in: the Exiles U19 are bringing a team. Everything you need to go watch is in the box below.
|
Sat Jun 13 • Check-in 8 AM • Atlanta Rugby Grounds, 1035 Fairburn Rd SW • Come Watch
HOTLANTA YOUTH 7S (INAUGURAL)
Check-in opens at 8 AM. An athletic trainer is onsite, concessions and water are available, and there is parking on the gravel lot. Bring a chair, bring the family, dogs welcome off the game fields.
Spectators free. Questions to hotlanta@atlantarugby.com; follow @hotlanta7s for the matchday schedule.
|
|
|
|
🏕 Develop This Summer
TWO SUMMER CAMPS STILL TAKING NAMES
The players who come back better in September are usually the ones who kept touching a ball over the summer. Two Georgia camps are open for registration right now, one for the youngest beginners, one for girls ready to step up.
|
July 6 to 10 • Roswell Area Park • Ages 5 to 14
REBELS YOUTH SUMMER CAMP
A week of rugby, games, and fun for ages 5 to 14, all skill levels, beginners included. Passing, catching, footwork, and the fun that makes kids come back. Registration is open now through the City of Roswell. A great first step for a younger player, or a tune-up before the fall season. Register here.
|
|
July 23 to 29 • Marietta • Girls 13 to 17
LIFE UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S GIRLS SUMMER RESIDENCY
For girls who want a real step up, Life University's women's program is running a residential development camp on its Marietta campus, July 23 to 29, for ages 13 to 17 at all skill levels. Technical and tactical work, strength, and leadership, with on-campus housing and meals, led by Director Ryszard Chadwick, a World Rugby Coach Educator, alongside current Life U players.
Residency $1,500 or commuter $850. Register through HomeTown Ticketing; questions to Director Ryszard Chadwick at ryszard.chadwick@life.edu. Details at liferunningeagles.com.
|
|
|
|
Sponsored • Newsletter Partner
|
|
THE ATLANTA COPPERHEADS ARE RECRUITING
|
|
|
Rugby league (13-a-side) has come to Atlanta, and the Copperheads are recruiting for the summer season. They run as an area select side, open to players from any union or gridiron background, whether you want a competitive summer or just to keep playing through the off-season.
The club has helped players go on to the USA Rugby League national team and to play professionally and semi-professionally in Australia. The men's side has a confirmed schedule, and a women's side is forming now.
|
Training
Tuesdays & Fridays, 6:30 PM
Roswell Area Park
|
|
|
copperheadsrlfc.com • @copperheadsrlfc on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
|
|
|
|
🥍 Summer Play Is Open
OPEN PITCHES ALL OVER THE STATE
Summer is the easiest time of year to try rugby or to keep building if you already play. The barrier is low, the sides are small, and most of what is running this month welcomes beginners. Find a pitch near you, in the metro or well beyond it.
|
Where to play 7s and touch this summer
Gwinnett Lions and Lady Lions (Lilburn): open 7s Thursdays 6 to 8 PM at Tribble Mill Park. Never played? This is the one they built for you. @gwinnettlionsrfc |
Gwinnett Lady Lions youth sessions (Lilburn): free six-week youth rugby for ages 10 to 16, Thursdays June 18 to July 23, 4 to 5:30 PM at Tribble Mill Park. Touch-based and beginner-friendly. @gwinnettladylionsrfc |
Atlanta Renegades (metro): Mondays 7 to 9 PM at Peachtree Middle School and Wednesdays 7 to 9 PM at Larry Bell Park, where the KSU-alumni Peglegs join in. @atlrenegadesrfc |
High Country RFC (Decatur): summer 7s Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 to 9 PM at Coan Park. @highcountrywrfc |
Alpharetta Exiles (Alpharetta): Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 to 9 PM at Innovation Academy, with youth and U19 Academy sessions running too. @exilesrugbyclub |
Atlanta Old White (SW Atlanta): summer 7s Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 to 9 PM at the Old White rugby pitch, 1035 Fairburn Rd SW. @atlantarugby |
Beyond the metro: rugby does not stop at the perimeter. Savannah Shamrocks on the coast, Macon Love in the middle of the state, Augusta Maddogs and the Augusta Furies out east, the Columbus Cruisers down south, Gainesville RUFC and the Carrollton Norsemen on the edges, the Athens Eagles out by UGA, and Blue Ridge up in the mountains. If you are anywhere in Georgia, there is a side closer than you think. Find your nearest in the Adult Club directory below. |
|
|
|
|
🏉 Adult Club Updates
THE RENEGADES ARE COUNTING DOWN TO SOMETHING
|
Worth Watching
THE CLOCK IS TICKING ON ATLANTARENEGADES.COM
The countdown clock on atlantarenegades.com is back and in its final stretch, under one line: "The Renegades Are Coming!" The club has now teased it on Instagram as well, but it still is not saying what the clock counts down to. By the time you read this it may already have flipped, so go look for yourself at atlantarenegades.com and keep an eye on @atlrenegadesrfc. A storied Atlanta men's side with something in the works, and no announcement to spoil it. Their standing summer 7s is in the roundup above.
|
|
|
|
🎓 College Corner
OFFSEASON, BUT THE PLANNING NEVER STOPS
|
Georgia's college spring seasons have wrapped and June is quiet on the field, but the work moves to recruiting and camps. Life University Women, off a national-title spring, turn next to their summer girls' residency in Marietta, July 23 to 29 (see Develop This Summer above). UGA and Georgia Tech are already lining up their fall recruiting. If your player is a rising senior, summer is when the next step gets real.
|
|
Recruiting tool: collegerugbyportal.com is free, lists 900-plus college programs (men's and women's, D1 through club), and lets players filter by state and message coaches directly. Treat listings as a starting point and confirm details with the school.
|
|
|
|
🏆 Tournament Watch
WHAT'S COMING
|
Sat Jun 13, Hotlanta Youth 7s (inaugural), check-in 8 AM at Atlanta Rugby Grounds. Free and family-friendly. The full preview is in the Lead Story above.
|
|
Sat Jun 13, Hotter Than Hell 7s (43rd annual), first kickoff 9 AM at 1904 Blanchard Blvd, Columbus. Hosted by the Columbus Cruisers, with Macon Love and the Gwinnett Lions men both making the trip. A whole second Georgia rugby scene the same Saturday as Hotlanta, down south with food, music, and a bounce house.
|
|
Sat Jul 25 • Atlanta • Registration open
HOTLANTA 7S (SENIOR)
Atlanta's biggest 7s tournament: Men's and Women's, Competitive and Social divisions. USA Rugby sanctioned. Registration is open, and team-entry deadlines step up after July 1, so any adult side planning to enter should lock it in. Details and pricing on the tournament page.
Register →
|
Traveling further afield? The Great Northwest Challenge, a national youth showcase with college scouting, runs June 12 to 14 in Bozeman, Montana, well outside Georgia but on the radar for families chasing the recruiting circuit.
|
|
|
💬 Whispers from the Touchline
Lady Trydown
The anonymous dispatch on Georgia rugby. All rumor, all hearsay, all in good fun.
Dearest Reader,
The season has scattered everyone to sevens and touch, and the touchline, as ever, hums with small intrigues. This Author has two whispers this week, both very much in the summer spirit. Proceed.
First, a matter of geography, or rather the lack of it. This Author has spent the week chasing fixtures that exist chiefly as rumor: a tournament whispered of in a group chat, a camp confirmed by a friend of a friend, a kickoff time that shifts depending on whom one asks. One begins to suspect that in Georgia rugby a date is not a fact but a vibe.
She does not mind a little mystery. She minds rather more that a family new to the sport must apparently know a guy to learn where their child may play. A lovely poster is a fine thing. A poster with the date on it is a finer one.
Second, and far more fondly: this Author adores an alumni night, if only for the wardrobe. Where else does one see, on a single touchline, the proud colors of three clubs that no longer technically exist? There is a particular dignity in a grown player in the crest of a side that folded before today's U10s were born, insisting the jersey still fits, mostly. Long may these ghosts haunt the snack table. They have earned it.
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.
|
|
🎓 Train Up
GET CERTIFIED
Every club needs more refs and more coaches. Here is the honest picture this month: there are no coaching or referee courses scheduled in Georgia right now. When new in-state dates post, you will find them in the USA Rugby Learning Center via Rugby Xplorer, and GA Youth Rugby reimburses certification costs for active referees and coaches. The good news is below.
|
Coming soon, closer to home: Rebels Rugby is working to host a Level 1 Coach course right here in the Atlanta area. Dates and location are still being locked in. We will run the details the moment they are confirmed, so watch this space.
|
|
|
|
📅 Mark Your Calendars
DATES THAT MATTER
🏆 Tournament 🏕 Camp 🥍 Club program
| 🥍 Tue Jun 16, 23, 30 • Rebels Touch Tuesdays (themed), 7 PM, Roswell Area Park. Free drop-in. |
| 🏆 Sat Jun 13 • Hotlanta Youth 7s (inaugural), Atlanta. Come watch. |
| 🏆 Sat Jun 13 • Hotter Than Hell 7s (43rd annual), Columbus. Come watch. |
| 🥍 Thu Jun 18 to Jul 23 • Gwinnett Lady Lions free youth sessions (ages 10-16), Tribble Mill Park. |
| 🏆 Sat Jun 27 • Vulcan 7s, Birmingham AL. Atlanta Copperheads travel. |
| 🏕 Jul 6-10 • Rebels Youth Summer Camp, Roswell Area Park. Ages 5-14, registration open. |
| 🏕 Jul 23-29 • Life U Women's Girls Summer Residency, Marietta. Girls 13-17. |
| 🏆 Sat Jul 25 • Hotlanta 7s (senior), Atlanta. Registration open, come watch. |
| 🏆 Sat Aug 1 • Beerfoot Beach 7s, Fort Myers FL. Atlanta Copperheads travel. |
|
|
|
🥍 New to Rugby?
FIND A YOUTH CLUB
Boys, girls, all ages. Every club below welcomes beginners. No experience needed.
Featured Club Listing
|
Rebels Rugby Youth GA
Every kid belongs on the pitch.
U6 to U18 coed • Greater Roswell, GA
|
Touch Tuesdays, through June 30. Free drop-in, 7 PM at Roswell Area Park (Multi-Sport Field 1). All ages, all abilities, just show up. Details at rebelsrugbyga.com.
| • Girls Takeover, Jun 16 |
| • Family Touch Night, Jun 23 |
| • Series Wrap BBQ, Jun 30 |
Youth Summer Camp, July 6 to 10. Five days of rugby, games, and friends for ages 5 to 14. Registration open. Register here.
|
|
Want your club featured here? Get in touch for special charter season rates while available.
|
|
|
🎓 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 → |
|
|
|
🏉 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.
Featured Club Listing
|
|
ATLANTA COPPERHEADS RLFC
Rugby league has come to Atlanta.
Open men's & women's (13-a-side) • Roswell Area Park
|
Recruiting now for the summer season. Training Tuesdays & Fridays, 6:30 PM at Roswell Area Park. Open to players from any union or gridiron background. Details at copperheadsrlfc.com.
|
|
The Copperheads also appear as a free text row in the directory below, like every GA club. The card above is the paid upgrade.
| Atlanta Copperheads RLFC • Roswell • Rugby league, men's & women's • Tue/Fri 6:30 PM copperheadsrlfc.com |
| 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, Tribble Mill Park @gwinnettlionsrfc |
| Atlanta Bucks RFC • Atlanta • Gay and inclusive club • Mon/Wed 7:30 PM @atlantabucksrfc |
| High Country RFC • North Georgia • Men's, Women's • Hosts Peach Pitch • Summer 7s Tue/Thu, Coan Park @highcountrywrfc |
| 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 • Touch & training Tue/Thu @rugbycarrollton |
| Augusta Maddogs RFC • Augusta • Men's • Practice Tue/Thu 6:30 PM @augustarugby |
| Augusta Furies • Augusta • Women's • Practice Tue/Thu 6-7:30 PM @augusta.furies |
| Savannah Shamrocks RFC • Savannah • Men's, Women's rugbysavannah.com |
| More Georgia clubs: georgiarugby.org/clubs |
|
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 30 issues. Roughly $3 a week to put your club in front of every rugby family in Georgia. First come, first served.
Claim Your Spot →
|
|
|
|
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 →
|
|
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 7 • June 10, 2026 • © 2026 The Rugby Radar
|
|