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Georgia
The Rugby Radar
A ball's eye view from the scrum.
Issue 9 / Vol. 2026 / June 23
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📣 Issue 9 • What's Inside
Georgia's girls and women's game is growing, the summer 7s circuit hits the road, and rugby league comes home to Roswell.
Also in this issue:
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Exiles launch a new U19 Girls program with a named head coach, and women's-side news is coming across the state. Lead Story below.
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Who's going where: a roundup of Georgia clubs out on the summer 7s tour circuit. On the Road below.
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Rugby league's Copperheads are home again June 27 in Roswell, vs the Axemen. Adult Club Updates below.
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A fresh whisper from Lady Trydown. Whispers below.
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🏉 Lead Story
MORE ROOMS TO PLAY IN: GEORGIA'S GIRLS AND WOMEN'S GAME IS GROWING
The fastest-growing corner of Georgia rugby this summer is the one built for girls and women. Up in Alpharetta, Exiles RFC is standing up a brand-new U19 Girls program for the coming season and has already named its head coach, with more news promised for the senior women's side. It is the newest entry in a statewide picture that keeps adding sides: a girls-only club in the metro, women's sides from Gwinnett to Augusta, a year-round women's club in the north, and a reigning national champion training the next group on a campus in Marietta. More teams, in more places, with more ways in.
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New for 2026-27 • Alpharetta
EXILES LAUNCH A U19 GIRLS PROGRAM
Exiles RFC has announced a new U19 Girls program for the upcoming season and named Coach Keliah Newman as its head coach. Newman steps into the role from within the Georgia youth game and will build the side from its first practice. The club is also teasing news on its senior women's side, and it is putting out an open invitation: anyone who wants to learn the game in a real club environment is welcome to come find the coaching staff. The Exiles run youth and senior sessions out of Innovation Academy and North Park, so a new girls side has a full club around it from day one.
Interested, or know a player who is? Reach the club at exilesrugby.org or @exilesrugbyclub.
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Across the State
WHERE GIRLS AND WOMEN PLAY IN GEORGIA
That new side joins a game that already runs deep, with far too many places to name them all here. Some girls and women play on dedicated sides: the girls-only Atlanta Valkyries in the metro, women's clubs from Gwinnett to Augusta, a women's side that trains year-round in the north, the Southeast's D1 women's team, and Life University Women, reigning national champions, who run a girls' summer camp (in Develop This Summer below).
And it is not only girls-only sides. Plenty of girls play coed at the youth clubs, from Rebels Rugby (U8 through high school) to the Forsyth Falcons to the Old White Lions and well beyond. The barrier to a first practice has never been lower.
This is a snapshot, not the full map. Every Georgia club is in Find a Youth Club and Find an Adult Club below. If your girls or women's side is not there yet, tell us and we will add it.
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🌱 Growing the Game
A NEW YOUTH SIDE TAKES ROOT IN GWINNETT
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Free • Open Registration • Thursdays, Jun 18 to Jul 23
GWINNETT YOUTH RUGBY SUMMER SESSIONS
The Gwinnett Lions have fielded men's and women's sides for years. Now they are building youth rugby from the ground up, the first roots of a brand-new youth side. The on-ramp is a free six-week summer program, open to boys and girls ages 10 to 16, all skill levels. It is touch-based, beginner-friendly, and runs every Thursday from June 18, 4 to 5:30 PM at Tribble Mill Park in Lawrenceville. No experience, no cost, just show up and play.
Register at gwinnettlionsrfc.com.
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🏉 On the Road
GEORGIA CLUBS ARE ON TOUR THIS SUMMER
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Who's Going Where • Summer 7s Circuit
Summer sevens is travel season, and Georgia sides are logging miles across the Southeast. A few of the tours we are tracking:
Exiles RFC (men): opened their summer at the Cape Fear 7s in Wilmington, NC, going 3-2 in a field of 32 and reaching the knockout semifinals. @exilesrugbyclub |
Gwinnett Lions and Lady Lions: a four-stop summer 7s tour, men and women. After Hotter than Hell in Columbus, they head to the Vulcan 7s (Birmingham, June 27), the Hotlanta 7s (Atlanta, July 25), and the Beerfoot Beach 7s (Fort Myers FL, August 1). gwinnettlionsrfc.com |
Macon Love: entering the social bracket at the Hotlanta 7s (Atlanta, July 25-26). @maconloverugby |
Taking your club to a tournament this summer? Tell the Radar and we will track it.
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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 27 vs the Axemen
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 (Lawrenceville): senior men's and women's training is back on, Thursdays from 6 PM at Tribble Mill Park, with open 7s Thursdays and Saturdays. New players welcome. gwinnettlionsrfc.com |
Atlanta Renegades (Dunwoody): summer 7s training Mondays and Wednesdays, 7 to 9 PM at Peachtree Middle School. Competitive and social, all skill levels, new players welcome. @atlrenegadesrfc |
High Country RFC (Decatur): summer 7s Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 to 9 PM at Coan Park. @highcountrywrfc |
Exiles RFC (Alpharetta): senior sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 to 9 PM at Innovation Academy, with youth and U19 Academy sessions too. Their Community Touch Rugby runs Thursdays at 7 PM, open to ages 16 to 99, no experience needed. @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, who host the Hotter than Hell 7s each June, 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 up north, and the Athens Eagles out by UGA. 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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🏉 Club Spotlight
DOWN ON THE COAST: THE SAVANNAH SHAMROCKS
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Rugby in Georgia is not just a metro Atlanta story, and the Savannah Shamrocks are the proof. Founded in 1978, the club now runs more than 100 members across a men's side, a women's side, and an old boys squad, and the men have gone back-to-back, champions in 2025 and 2026, out of their home at Daffin Park.
They are opening the doors to the next generation, too, with a youth try-day on Sunday, June 28 (ages 6 to 14) at Timber Trail Park in Richmond Hill. And every March the Shamrocks host the St. Patrick's Day Tournament at Daffin Park, one of the largest in the country at 85-plus teams from across the US, Canada, England, and Ireland. rugbysavannah.com
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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 real recruiting window is almost here. When students land on campus in August, most college rugby clubs set up at the student activities fair, the club-rush tables where the majority of college players actually sign up, no experience required. UGA, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, UNG, and Life University all take walk-ons that way every fall. Life University Women, off a national-title spring, also run a summer girls' residency in Marietta, July 23 to 29 (see Develop This Summer above). If your player is heading to one of these schools, the move is simple: find the rugby table in week one.
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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 27, Atlanta Copperheads vs Axemen, Roswell Area Park. Rugby league at home, free and family-friendly.
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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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Looking ahead, registration is open: Greer Christmas 7s (December 5-6, Greer SC). The big winter high school showcase, Boys and Girls divisions, that Georgia sides travel up for every year. Spots fill fast, so any club planning a December trip should lock it in early through the City of Greer.
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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 pitches are quiet, which means the tongues most certainly are not. A few morsels from a slow and sweltering off-season:
On selection. There is no fiercer tactician than the one with no actual responsibilities. This Author watched three separate authorities settle an entire autumn lineup over a single warm evening, each utterly certain, each flatly contradicting the last, and not one of them ever once asked. The pitch, when it reopens, has a marvelous way of sorting the talkers from the doers.
On summer fitness. Every July the same small miracle occurs: an entire club discovers running. The dispatches arrive, breathless and proud, of dawn sessions and dry Julys and a leaner, faster self who will be unveiled come September. This Author has witnessed a great many such Septembers. She wishes this year's new self safe travels, and a soft landing back at the bar.
On the destination tournament. The rugby is the point, naturally. Of course it is. The sand, the surf, and the suspiciously large cooler are merely supporting players. Compete well, and do reapply the sunscreen.
On the new kit. A certain sort of player insists he could not possibly care about the new jersey, right up until the pre-order window opens, at which point he refreshes the page like a man possessed. We see you. We have always seen you.
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 youth summer rugby (ages 10-16), Tribble Mill Park, Lawrenceville. |
| 🎓 Jun 26 • Level 1 Referee Course, Birmingham AL. Nearest regional course to Georgia. |
| 🏆 Sat Jun 27 • Atlanta Copperheads vs Axemen, Roswell Area Park. Come watch. |
| 🏉 Sun Jun 28 • Savannah Shamrocks youth try-day (ages 6-14), Timber Trail Park, Richmond Hill, 2 PM. |
| 🏉 Tue Jun 30 • Rebels Touch Tuesday Series Finale and Grill & Chill, 7 PM, Roswell Area Park. Free drop-in. |
| 🏕 Jul 6-10 • Rebels Summer Skills & Drills Camp, Roswell Area Park. Ages 5-14, 9 AM to 1 PM, registration open. |
| 🎓 Jul 12 • Level 1 Referee Course, Charlotte NC. |
| 🎓 Jul 17 • Level 1 Referee Course, Knoxville TN. |
| 🏕 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. |
| 🏆 Dec 5-6 • Greer Christmas 7s, Greer SC. HS Boys & Girls, registration open. |
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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.
| • 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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🏉 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, 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 27, vs the Axemen. 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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| 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 & Women's, 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 |
| 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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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.
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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 9 • June 23, 2026 • © 2026 The Rugby Radar
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