Hosts Dallen Stanford & Robin MacDowell are joined by USA 7s and 15s legend, Olympian Alev Kelter and USA 7s power forward and Olympian Matai Leuta for Episode 10 of The Rugby Sevens Rollercoaster.
Kelter is one of the most capped USA 7s players of all-time, taking part in the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and is preparing for a third in Paris 2024. She represented the USA Eagles at both the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cups. Kelter just won the 2023 Premier Rugby Sevens Championship with the Northern Loonies, claiming her second title with the squad following Memphis 2021. She was named the most value player at the Championship in Washington D.C. after her side defeated the New York Locals 21-12 in the final.
Leuta has been one of the core USA 7s players from 2015-2021, recently returning to the squad ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, which would also be his third Olympics, following Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. He has played in the Premier Rugby Sevens since the inaugural season, becoming 2023 Champions with the Rhinos x Loggerheads after winning the Washington D.C. final 10-5 against the Pittsburgh Steeltoes, and was named to the Team of the Championship.
Premier Rugby Sevens featured 8 franchises with 16 teams in 2023 contesting five tournaments across the U.S. The season started on June 17 at Q2 Stadium (Austin, Texas) for the Eastern Conference Kickoff, then TCO Stadium (Minneapolis, Minnesota) hosted the Western Conference Kickoff on June 24. The Western Conference Finals took place on July 15 at Paypal Park (San Jose, California) and the Eastern Conference Finals on July 23 at Highmark Stadium (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). The 2023 Championship was played on August 6 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and featured the top two teams from each Conference.
Results for the 2023 season:
Eastern Conference Kickoff Winners | Southern Headliners (Women) + Texas Team (Men)
Western Conference Kickoff Winners | Northern Loonies (Women) + Rocky Mountain Experts (Men)
Western Conference Winners | Rocky Mountain Experts (Women) + Rhinos x Socal Loggerheads (Men)
Eastern Conference Winners | Southern Headliners (Women) + Pittsburgh Steeltoes (Men)
Champions for 2023 | Northern Loonies (Women) + Rhinos x Socal Loggerheads (Men)
United Franchise Champions for 2023 (Combined Women’s + Men’s Results) | Rocky Mountain Experts
We hope you enjoy The Rugby Sevens Rollercoaster!
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