Back on track

Photo by Tiana Mandukich

South Carolina put in a dominating performance at the Gamecock 7s Invitational by outscoring their four opponents 124-7 and finishing 4-0 Saturday.

The Gamecocks bested Western Michigan B (39-0), Clemson B (39-0), Clemson A (24-7) and Western Michigan (22-0). Freshman Charlie Feehan led try scorers with seven while Cole Maney and Peter Blackburn had four and three trys respectively.

Feehan and Max Hendry, who were both missing at the Wake Forest tournament two weeks ago, returned for Saturday’s tournament, adding much-needed depth. Charlie Dwyer, the Gamecocks leading try scorer remains injured. But the team is hopeful that he will return in time for the SCRC Tournament April 12 in Greer, South Carolina.

Saturday’s performance comes after solid, but less than dominating outings at 7s tournaments at Wake Forest (fourth place) and the University of Florida (fourth place).

“Our defense was incredibly solid today, particularly against Western Michigan and Clemson who have very strong programs,” said Head Coach John Roberts. We played physical rugby, and it was nice to see the team play with a bit of swagger.”

The Gamecock B-side finished 1-3 on the day, defeating Western Michigan B 28-0, but dropping games to Clemson A (5-35), Clemson B (15-21) and Western Michigan A (0-10).

With spring break on the horizon, USC is idle until March 22. The 7s team will travel to Rock Hill for a tournament while the 15s squad will face UNC in Chapel Hill.