With the realignment of high school rugby’s format into two divisions, Rugby Colorado held its first Division II High School State Championship in over a decade, and the match between the Boulder Lions and PAC Rugby did not disappoint the fans who braved the nasty weather at Englewood High School Stadium Thursday evening to watch the dramatic overtime finish.

In the first half, PAC took an early lead on a try (converted) and a penalty kick. Boulder’s lack of ball control against a physical PAC defense threatened a repeat of their performance two weeks prior in their Promotion/Relegation loss to SWARM (see story) and allowed PAC a 10-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Boulder’s offense came alive racking up three tries (one converted). Boulder’s scoring was matched by a converted PAC try that leveled the score at 17 each when regular time expired.

Because high school players are limited to 70 minutes of play per match, Rugby Colorado established championship tiebreaker rules inline with the International Rugby Board’s under 20 World Championship Guidelines. The first tiebreaker consists of two five-minute overtime periods with a two-minute halftime and is not sudden death.

In the first overtime period, Boulder’s unconverted try gave them a five-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the season. PAC scored a try (unconverted) in the second overtime period and the score was again level when time expired with the score 22-22.

Since the game remained tied with players’ eligible playing time exhausted, the referee moved to the second tiebreaker, the number of tries scored. Boulder’s four total tries to PAC’s three broke the deadlock, and Boulder took home their first ever state title.

More about tiebreakers
In the event both teams had an equal number of tries, the team with the greater number of converted tries would have won. If both teams have an equal number of converted tries, a penalty shoot-out would have determined the winner.

Rugby Colorado’s coaches vote on changes to the tiebreaker rules prior to the beginning of the season.

More about high school rugby in Colorado
High school rugby is played in two thirty-minute halves with a ten-minute halftime. A try is similar to football's touchdown and is worth five points. A successful conversion (similar to football's extra point) adds two additional points. Penalty kicks and drop goals are scored at three points each.

Rugby at the high school level in Colorado is made possible through the efforts of Rugby Colorado. Rugby Colorado offers programs for both boys and girls, ages 5-18,