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Georgia
The Rugby Radar
A ball's eye view from the scrum.
Issue 8 / Vol. 2026 / June 17
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This Issue's Sponsor
The Atlanta Copperheads play their first Georgia home match Saturday June 20 in Roswell, and they are recruiting. Full story below. copperheadsrlfc.com →
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📣 Issue 8 • What's Inside
Two sevens tournaments in one Saturday, the Renegades countdown finally stops, and rugby league comes home. Georgia ran hot, Columbus to Fairburn.
Also in this issue:
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A new club for every age, and Georgia's first high school 7s, the same week the 43rd Hotter than Hell ran in Columbus. Lead Story below.
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The Renegades countdown was a rebrand: the 1971 club relaunches. Adult Club Updates below.
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Rugby league's Copperheads play their first home match June 20 in Roswell. Adult Club Updates below.
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A fresh whisper from Lady Trydown. Whispers below.
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🏉 Lead Story
GEORGIA'S GAME IS GROWING: A NEW CLUB FOR EVERY AGE, AND THE STATE'S FIRST HIGH SCHOOL 7S
Two developments this month point Georgia rugby the same direction: up. In Cartersville, the former Red Top Lions youth side has joined Atlanta Old White as the Old White Lions, more than 60 players, most of them high schoolers, giving one club a side for every age from the youngest minis to the senior team. The coach who built the Lions, Chris Byerly, also ran the show on Saturday June 13, when Georgia held its first dedicated high school sevens, the inaugural Hotlanta Youth 7s in southwest Atlanta. The same afternoon, three hours south, the Columbus Cruisers ran the 43rd Hotter than Hell 7s, the oldest sevens in the state. New blood at one end of the game, deep roots at the other.
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Played Sat Jun 13 • Atlanta Rugby Grounds, 1035 Fairburn Rd SW
HOTLANTA YOUTH 7S (INAUGURAL)
Georgia's first dedicated high school sevens tournament got off the ground: eight invited sides in two pools, USA Rugby sanctioned, athletic trainer onsite, a full day of high school rugby in the June heat. The newly formed Old White Lions hosted and fielded a side, and teams traveled in from North Carolina and Tennessee to join the Georgia squads.
Brackets and the matchday gallery are posting to @hotlanta7s. Were you there? Send us the result.
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Played Sat Jun 13 • The CruiserDome, Columbus
HOTTER THAN HELL 7S (43RD ANNUAL)
Down in Columbus, the Cruisers hosted the 43rd running of Hotter than Hell, a 12-team field on a tournament that has been part of the Georgia summer since 1984. Generations of clubs have their names on the honor roll, and the day comes with food, music, and the kind of crowd a four-decade fixture earns.
Follow the Columbus Cruisers at @cruisersrugby for the 2026 winners. Have the final? Tip the Radar.
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🏉 Adult Club Updates
THE RENEGADES COUNTDOWN WAS A REBRAND
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The Reveal
A FULL RELAUNCH FOR ONE OF THE CITY'S OLDEST CLUBS
For weeks the clock on atlantarenegades.com ticked under one line: "The Renegades Are Coming." Now it has landed, and it is a top-to-bottom relaunch for one of the city's oldest sides. The Atlanta Renegades RFC, founded in 1971, is back with a brand-new website and a sharpened identity built around one word: brotherhood. "Commit to the standard," the new site says.
The club is openly recruiting for the summer, no experience required, with 7s sessions Mondays at Peachtree Middle School and Wednesdays at Larry Bell Park. New look, same 1971 roots. Take a look at atlantarenegades.com.
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Sat Jun 20 • Roswell Area Park • Come Watch
RUGBY LEAGUE'S FIRST HOME MATCH: COPPERHEADS VS SARASOTA BULLSHARKS
The Atlanta Copperheads, the city's new rugby league (13-a-side) side, play their first Georgia home match on Saturday June 20 against the Sarasota Bullsharks at Roswell Area Park (kickoff 6:45 PM). They opened the season on the road, so this is the first chance to see them at home. Free and family-friendly. Their full story, including how to come train, is the sponsor feature below. @copperheadsrlfc
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Sponsored • Newsletter Partner
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THE ATLANTA COPPERHEADS ARE RECRUITING
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Next Home Match
Sat June 20 vs Sarasota Bullsharks, 6:45 PM
Roswell Area Park • come watch
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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.
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Training
Tuesdays & Fridays, 6:30 PM
Roswell Area Park
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copperheadsrlfc.com • @copperheadsrlfc on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
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🏉 Summer Play Is Open
OPEN PITCHES ALL OVER THE STATE
Tournaments are the headline, but the real summer story is the open sessions running every week. 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.
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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. The Columbus Cruisers, fresh off hosting Hotter than Hell, run Tuesdays and Thursdays down south. Add Savannah Shamrocks on the coast, Macon Love in the middle of the state, Augusta Maddogs and the Augusta Furies out east, 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. |
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🏕 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.
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July 6 to 10 • 9 AM to 1 PM • Roswell Area Park • Ages 5 to 14
REBELS SUMMER SKILLS & DRILLS CAMP
A week of rugby, games, and fun for ages 5 to 14, all skill levels, beginners included. Ball handling, kicking and bag drills, development and scrimmages, with certified coaches and special guest drop-ins. 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.
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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.
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🎓 College Corner
OFFSEASON, BUT THE PLANNING NEVER STOPS
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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.
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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.
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🏆 Tournament Watch
WHAT'S COMING
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Sat Jun 20, Atlanta Copperheads vs Sarasota Bullsharks, Roswell Area Park, 6:45 PM. Rugby league's first Georgia home match of the season. Free and family-friendly. Full feature above.
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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 fees step up after July 1, so any adult side planning to enter should lock it in. Details and pricing on the tournament page.
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,
Summer is the season of the open invitation, and nowhere is the invitation more open than the seven-a-side roster. This Author has watched, with no small delight, a certain phenomenon bloom across the state: the touchline reunion of sworn enemies.
You know the scene. A side turns up to a summer tournament wearing one crest and fielding, oh, rather a lot of faces last seen in the colors across the pitch. The fly-half who tormented them all spring is suddenly, marvelously, on their side for the afternoon. Everyone shakes hands. Everyone shares a cooler. Everyone agrees, very sincerely, that this means nothing at all come September.
This Author adores it. There is no purer expression of the sport than a borrowed boot and a temporary truce. Lend freely, win together, and remember every favor. The ledger, she promises you, is being kept, in pencil, by people who will absolutely produce it in the autumn.
Until next week. Mind the offside line, mind whose jersey you are actually wearing, 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 and more coaches. Here is the honest picture this month: there are no coaching or referee courses scheduled in Georgia right now. The nearest regional option is a Level 1 Referee course in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday June 26, with more following in Charlotte (July 12) and Knoxville (July 17). 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.
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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.
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📅 Mark Your Calendars
DATES THAT MATTER
🏆 Tournament 🏕 Camp 🏉 Club program
| 🏉 Thu Jun 18 to Jul 23 • Gwinnett Lady Lions free youth sessions (ages 10-16), Tribble Mill Park. |
| 🏆 Sat Jun 20 • Atlanta Copperheads vs Sarasota Bullsharks, Roswell Area Park. Come watch. |
| 🏉 Tue Jun 23 & 30 • Rebels Touch Tuesdays, 7 PM, Roswell Area Park: Family Night (Jun 23), Series Finale and Grill & Chill (Jun 30). Free drop-in. |
| 🎓 Fri Jun 26 • Level 1 Referee Course, Birmingham AL. Nearest regional course to Georgia. |
| 🏕 Jul 6-10 • Rebels Summer Skills & Drills Camp, Roswell Area Park. Ages 5-14, 9 AM to 1 PM, 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. |
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Sponsored • Community Partner
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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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Free Summer Series, Touch Tuesdays through June 30. Drop-in at 7 PM, Roswell Area Park (Field MS-1). All ages, all abilities, no experience needed.
| • Family Night, Tue Jun 23 |
| • Series Finale and Grill & Chill, Tue Jun 30 |
Summer Skills & Drills Camp, July 6 to 10, 9 AM to 1 PM. Ages 5 to 14, certified coaches. Registration open. rebelsrugbyga.com.
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Rebels also appears as a free text row in the youth directory below, like every Georgia club. This featured card is a sponsor placement.
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🏉 New to Rugby?
FIND A YOUTH CLUB
Boys, girls, all ages. Every club below welcomes beginners. No experience needed.
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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 |
| Emory University • Atlanta • Men's club (SCRC) |
| 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.
Featured Club Listing
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ATLANTA COPPERHEADS RLFC
Rugby league has come to Atlanta.
Open men's & women's (13-a-side) • Roswell Area Park
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At home Saturday, June 20, vs Sarasota Bullsharks. 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.
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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 • Hosts Hotter than Hell 7s • 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 |
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First TRY Discount
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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 →
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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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No club allegiance. No union politics. No hype. Just every level of Georgia rugby, U6 to pro, 85 clubs and programs tracked, free every week.
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THE RUGBY RADAR
A ball's eye view from the scrum.
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therugbyradar.com • @therugbyradar • @LadyTrydown
Issue 8 • June 17, 2026 • © 2026 The Rugby Radar
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