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By Ray Hamill — Two years after winning a national championship in rugby, the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s program is hoping to add a rugby sevens national title to their resume next month.

Rugby sevens is a more open and faster version of the game compared to the traditional 15-player rugby, and it is an Olympic sport.

As the name suggests, the game is played with just seven players per team on a full-sized field, with games played out over two halves of seven minutes each as opposed to 40-minute halves. 

The Division-3 national sevens tournament will take place in Maryland on April 25 and 26 and will feature 16 schools in the Division-3 bracket, which the Jacks will compete in.

And if recent results are any indication, the Jacks might just have the team to take home another national championship.

Three teams have already secured qualification for the big tournament, including the CPH men, who have looked very impressive this year.

The team has traveled to compete in a pair of tournaments — one in Monterey and the other at Western Oregon University — and the Jacks have thoroughly dominated all of their opponents at both.

In nine games total, all of which they won, the CPH men outscored their opponents by a massive margin, 343 to 36.

“These guys are putting up points and are very strong defensively,” said program director of rugby Vincent Celotto, who also is an assistant coach with the 15-player team. “The majority of our 13 players (on the roster) are fast and have been very dominant this sevens season, blowing away the competition.

“I think we have a really good solid team.”

Sevens rugby is relatively new for the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary two years ago.

The Jacks have played sevens on and off throughout the program’s history, but have placed more of a focus on the sport recently and have traveled to play more consistently over the past five years.

And that appears to be paying dividends with many of the players taking full advantage of the opportunity and the sevens team building a lot of momentum.

“We’ve got a really good mix of players,” Celotto said. “We’ve got some finishers in there and we’ve got a few of the national championship kids.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.”

The team is currently fundraising for the event through their JustGiving.com page.

The CPH sevens team is coached by Greg Paragee, who also coaches the CPH men’s 15-player team.