The Kansas City Blues will host the “Mid America Rugby Showcase” featuring the best high school, collegiate and men’s rugby teams in the area on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village. High school matches are set to begin at 11:45 a.m., collegiate matches will begin at 3 p.m. and the feature match of the event will be held at 7:30 p.m. when the KC Blues play the KC Islanders.
The high school matches will feature nationally-ranked programs squaring off against each other at 11:45 a.m. on Field 6 as Kansas state champions St. Thomas Aquinas will take on Missouri state champions KC Jr. Blues. In the other high school match, local rivals Park Hill South will play Blue Valley at 11:45 a.m. on Field 5.
The action for the remainder of the day will focus on the training grounds of Sporting Kansas City, where collegiate matches will kick off at 3 p.m. with the University of Arkansas taking on Truman State University in the first game. At 4:30 p.m., the University of Missouri – Kansas City will play host to Pittsburgh State University.
In the curtain-raiser to the main event that evening, the KC Blues reserve side will host the Kansas City Rugby Football Club in a rivalry match at 6 p.m. The Blues reserves compete in USA Rugby’s Division 3 and are currently in 1st place in the Heart of America Conference. KC RFC compete a level up in USA Rugby’s Division 2 and will be a stern challenge for the Blues developmental side.
The main event of the evening will feature the host KC Blues senior side against the upstart KC Islanders. The Blues come into the match in 1st place in the Midwest Rugby Premiership, a league that plays at the highest level of competition in the country as part of USA Rugby’s Division 1. The Blues are 11-1 on the season, riding a 10-match winning streak into this non-conference match with the Islanders.
The Islanders currently sit in 1st place in the Frontier Conference in USA Rugby’s Division 2. The contrast in styles between the Blues’ team speed and pace of their game against the Islanders’ power is sure to make for an incredibly entertaining match.
The Blues have been playing rugby in Kansas City since 1966, and with five appearances in USA Rugby’s National Championship Final Four since 1993 they are the Region’s elite men’s club. An amateur organization, the Blues are a proud affiliate of Sporting Club and a founding member of the Sporting Club Network.
Walk-up tickets are available for $5.00, while children under 14 are free. Swope Soccer Village is located at 6301 Lewis Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
