USA Rugby Elite Cup

USA Rugby Elite Cup
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Sport	Rugby union football
Inaugural season	2013  (first and only)
Replaced by	USA Rugby Super League
Number of teams	8
Country	United States (USA Rugby)
Champions	San Francisco Golden Gate RFC
Website	Elite Cup

The USA Rugby Elite Cup is a defunct American rugby union football competition which ran for just one seasion in 2013. The competition was founded in 2012, replacing the USA Rugby Super League involving the top USA rugby clubs. The inaugural Elite Cup tournament began on 16 March 2013, but the competition folded at the end of 2013

Format

Pool stage

Two pools of four teams play three games, one against each other team in their pool. There is no inter-pool play. The pools are divided geographically, East & West. Four points are awarded for a win and two points for a draw. A bonus point is awarded for a loss by seven points or fewer, or for scoring four tries or more. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the semi-finals. The two pool winners have home field advantage.

Knock-out stage

The semi-finals are East 1 vs East 2 and West 1 vs West 2. The semi-finals are played at the home stadiums of the higher-seeded teams.

Teams

Team	Pool	Stadium (capacity)	City
Boston	East	Franklin Park (500)	Boston, MA
Denver Barbarians	West	Shea Stadium (Denver)	Denver, CO
Glendale Raptors	West	Infinity Park (4,000)	Glendale, CO
Life	East	Life University Rugby Complex	Marietta, GA
New York Athletic Club (or NYAC)	East	Travers Island	New York City
Old Blue	East	Columbia Soccer Stadium (3,500)	New York City
Seattle Saracens	West	Magnuson Park	Seattle, WA
San Francisco Golden Gate (or SFGG)	West	Ray Sheeran Field	San Francisco, CA

Boston

Denver Barbarians

Glendale Raptors

Life

NYAC

Old Blue

Seattle Saracens

SFGG

Locations of teams for the 2013 Elite Cup season.

Results

Year	Location	Final
		Winner	Score	Runner-up
2013	Infinity Park Glendale, Colorado	San Francisco Golden Gate	31 - 26	Life