Park City Haggis withdraws from USA Rugby playoffs

Denver Highlanders vs. Park City Haggis in a Rocky Mountain Rugby Men's Premiership match from October 6, 2018

Park City Haggis, the regular season champions of the Rocky Mountain Rugby Men's Premiership, has withdrawn its intent to participate in the 2019 USA Rugby National Championship Series, including the 2019 Frontier Men's Division II Championship.

Despite producing a 9-1 record that included a 77-10 victory over the 2018 Division II National Champion Denver Barbarians, the cost of travel to sites selected by the Frontier Competitions Committee and USA Rugby is too much to bear for the club.

"It was not an easy decision for the club but the location of the Frontier playoff makes travel a nightmare. Driving is not an option at that distance and the lack of an airport with cost-effective flights makes it worse," said Park City Haggis representative Jason Hoke.

The playoffs, each scheduled two weeks apart in Columbia, Missouri (May 4); Austin, Texas (May 18-19); and Obetz, Ohio (June 1-2), would entail traveling over 8,300 miles in a 5-week period, with each trip being over 1,200 miles each way (the approximate distance between Seattle-San Diego, New York-Miami, or New York-Minneapolis). A Rocky Mountain Rugby Men's Premiership Grand Final was also scheduled for April in Grand Junction, Colorado, which is halfway between Park City and Denver. Park City's withdrawal has resulted in the cancellation of this match and the advancement of the league runner-up to the next round.

Previous Frontier playoffs hosted by the Mid-America union were held in Wichita, Kansas and St. Louis, Missouri (1,300 miles away from Utah; St. Louis is closer to Boston and Miami than Utah), which were also difficult for Rocky Mountain Rugby teams to plan for. Rocky Mountain Rugby has previously committed to always putting its turn at hosting the Frontier playoffs in Denver to assist Mid-America teams with travel.

"The decision to move the next round to Austin [after numerous indications by USA Rugby it would be going to San Francisco] makes it a double blow for us," Hoke continued. "To top it off, having finals moved across the country [11 of the previous 12 finals were in Colorado, and Ohio was announced in March] makes it a decision that we feel is in the best interest of our club. I'm not sure who makes these decisions but they are not done in the best interest of club rugby. To grow the game these playoff matches need to be held in locations that are budget-friendly and have large airports. Otherwise teams that go do so at the cost of weakening their teams, by putting financial pressure on their players, sponsors, and alumni."

"With no intent of going further, we feel it is in the best interest of the league to forgo the play in game in order to give the runner-up the best chance of arriving at the Frontier playoffs with enough time to plan and raise funds," Hoke concluded.

Founded in 1974, Park City Haggis was the 2006 USA Rugby Division II National Champion, has produced numerous U.S. National Team players, and currently has an extensive network of players and alumni in Major League Rugby.

With Park City Haggis's withdrawal, the scheduled match between Park City and Boulder Rugby has been cancelled, and league runner-up Boulder Rugby will represent the Rocky Mountain Rugby Men's Premiership in the Frontier Division II Championship match versus the Mid-America champion Wichita Barbarians. Park City defeated Boulder twice in the regular season, 25-22, and 33-14.

The 2018-2019 Rocky Mountain Rugby Men's Premiership was one of the most competitive seasons in recent history, with the 2018 USA Rugby Division II National Champion Denver Barbarians finishing third with a 5-3 league record. The Barbos were able to score a victory over league champion Park City Haggis (9-1) but couldn't get past Boulder Rugby (5-3 in Premiership play; 8-3 overall) in either of the team's two matches. Boulder, in turn, was also once defeated by the fourth-place Denver Highlanders (3-5 in Premiership play; 6-6 overall). Boulder Rugby's appearance in the national playoffs is its first since 2012, and is on the back of its 2018 Eastern Rockies Cup championship.