USD wins Gold Coasts 7s 2023

USD rugby began the 2023-2024 campaign  on October 7th with  the Gold Coast 7s tournament. USD would clinch the conference 7s championship with a 24-21 victory over USC in the final.

USD breezed through pool play with a 38-0 victory over Pepperdine and a 47-0 victory over USC’s second side. The semi final was a more tense affair, with USD beating Claremont 19-12.

This would set up a rematch of last years final, with the Toreros taking on the trojans yet again. USD was disappointed to put in a lackluster performance last year and were determined to atone for last year’s mistakes. USC jumped on the scoreboard first with a try 2 minutes into the game. Daniel Suhr would strike back for USD off the ensuing kickoff, drawing the sides level around halfway through the first half. Devin Hoovel would strike again soon after to give USD their first lead of the game. Nate Leff came into the game in the final minute of the half and was able to score with his first touch of the ball. USD would take a 19-7 lead into halftime.

USC would score first in the second half to bring the score to 19-14. Paul Habeeb would strike next with a spectacular solo effort to give USD a 24-14 lead. USC would strike back to bring the match to 24-21 with a couple minutes remaining. USC launched one final assault at the USD try line, but Nate Leff and Dominic Martinez would link up for a double tackle to bring the ball carrier into touch for full time.

The USD second team also competed at the tournament and went 1-2 with losses against USC and Claremont and a win against Pepperdine.  Brody O’Brien was a standout and was selected as man of the tournament for the USD second team.

For the first side it was a solid start to the season with several players making their debut for the Toreros. Paul Habeeb was selected as the player of the tournament for a performance that contained attacking fireworks and some excellent turnovers on defense.