The Māori have attended the Lakefront 7s for many years. And now they finally have the hardware to show for their efforts.
The Māori (St. Charles, IL) were paired with the Wolfpack (St. Paul, MN), event host Barbarians (Milwaukee, WI) and the Vikings (Algonquin, IL) in Pool A of the Men’s Social division.
These teams rarely meet in typical league play in the Fall. But it was apparent early on that the Maori were not phased by the prospect of unfamiliar opposition as the Māori finished poll play with a 3-0-0 record to advance to the semi-finals.
But a determined Wolfpack side nearly spoiled their day. During pool play, the Māori edged their St. Paul opponents by just 3 points and thus avoided a tie-break.
In the semi-final, the Māori met the Swords (Chicago, IL), who advanced from Pool B in a “points for” tie-break with cross-town rivals Lincoln Park. But the Māori had recovered from their close call against the Wolfpack, and cruised into the championship match with a 31-5 victory.
On the other side of the division, NT Old Boys (Chicago, IL) also had a comfortable semi-final victory to punch their own ticket to the final. But the Māori were too strong and outpaced the Chicgoans 24-7 to hoist the trophy.
Playoffs
Pool play standings
Full match results
