St. Bonaventure’s rugby teams are in search of more national hardware this weekend.

Both the men and women have qualified for the Premier Cup divisions of the Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s Friday through Sunday at the Maryland SoccerPlex in suburban Washington, D.C.

All the games will be streamed here (subscription required). National Collegiate Rugby plays 15-player rugby in the fall and 7-player in the spring.

The men qualified for the 32-team national tourney by winning the Frostbite 7s March 1 and followed that with another dominating tune-up for nationals — an undefeated run at the Stag 7s at Fairfield University on April 11. The Bonnies edged Walsh in the title match, 17-12.

“The tournament was great preparation going into nationals. The team is getting hot just at the right time!” said Coach Danny Neighbour. “It’s been a great season of continuous development for the lads. We continue to build off our successful fall championship win.”

St. Bonaventure, which thumped Queens, 55-19, in December to win its second 15s national title in the last five years, hopes to avenge its title-game loss to Wheeling in last April’s CRC National 7s.

“The lads are hungry to get a title in both 7s and 15s, something we’ve never done,” Neighbour said. “We got close last year with another program first, reaching the final of the CRCs, but we aren’t satisfied and believe we have the talent and the game to take it all.”

The men open play Friday at 9 a.m. vs. Maryland. The semifinals and finals are Saturday. The full bracket and schedule of games is here.

On the strength of a strong spring 7s season, the women earned an at-large bid to the 16-team nationals. The Bonnies went 3-1 at their most recent tournament, the Gate City 7s in Greensboro, North Carolina, losing only to Queens in the title game.

The Bonnies open play with Navy at 9:45 a.m. Saturday. The semifinals and finals are Sunday. The full bracket and schedule of games is here. The SBU women won the small-college National 15s title in 2023.

The JV men also went unbeaten at the Stag 7s tournament, the club’s third title of the spring season.

“Their success only cements the fantastic depth of talent we have,” Neighbour said. “Once again, it won’t be easy to pick the final 15 tasked with competing for another national title in the fall.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #8 for value and #19 overall by U.S. News and World Report (2025).