Rugby has not reached the level of popularity in most places in the United States to allow regular leagues. Thus, many club teams host and travel to tournaments within their state or region to test themselves against other competition. Tournaments often last over a weekend, and teams and players receive trophies for outstanding performances.
Group Play
Depending on how many teams make up the field, most tournaments start with group round-robin play. For instance, if 16 teams are in the field, they are divided into four groups of four. Each team plays the other three in its group, receiving three points for a win, two for a tie, one for a loss and zero for a no-show.
Group Champions
Whichever team tallies the most points at the end of group play is declared the group champion and advances to the semifinals against the winner of another group.
The two semifinal winners then play for the overall championship, with the semifinal losers typically playing a consolation match.
Time of Matches
With many teams attending tournaments in other cities or even other states, time is often of the essence so squads don't have to stay overnight or past a weekend.
For this reason, group matches are often shorter than elimination matches, making it easier to accommodate uncontrollable factors such as injuries or inclement weather.
For example, the Battleship Rugby Tournament in Mobile, Alabama, uses 22-minute halves for group play, then extends the time to 30-minute halves for its championship matches.
Single Elimination
In locales strong enough to support a league, tournaments are often used at season's end to crown a champion. In most cases, the team with the best record in the regular season plays the qualifying team with the worst regular-season record, with the rest of the seeding following suit. For instance, in an eight-team tournament, the best record would play the eighth-best, the second-best would face the seventh-best, the third-best would play the sixth-best and the fourth-best would play the fifth-best. The winners move on to the second round of the tournament, while the losers are eliminated. After the first round, the top-ranked remaining team plays the bottom-ranked remaining team, and the other two teams play each other. The winners of the second-round matches then play each other for the championship.
Tie-Breakers
In single-elimination matches, rules decide which team advances in case of a tie. In the Battleship Rugby Tournament, teams play up to two sudden death five-minute periods. If the teams are still tied, a kicking contest decides the winner. Other tournaments use a series of tie-breakers to determine the winner. The first tie-breaker is most tries scored, the second is fewest red cards issued, and the third is fewest yellow cards issued. If the first three tie-breakers do not resolve the match, sudden death drop kicks from 15 yards in front of the posts are attempted. One kicker per side per round will kick, with new kickers each round, until the first miss.
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