Rogues defy strong opponents to triumph in first appearance

The Flint Tropics, a.k.a. Rogues RFC (Flint, MI), have completed their first trip to the Lakefront 7s. And what a trip it turned out to be with a championship trophy in tow on the trip back home..

The Tropics were joined in Men’s Super Social pool B by the Beer Barons (Milwaukee, WI), the Boksprings (Faribault, MN) and the Lawyers (Chicago, IL). Although Flint won the pool handily with a 3-0-0 record, the interesting story here is the strength of the other pool winners.

All four pool winners had the same record and a points differential between 57 and 85 points, portending competitive playoffs.

Given the pool stage standings, it was surprisingly when the South Side Irish (Chicago, IL) cruised to a 31-12 victory in semi-final 2.

Flint would have a more difficult path. They edged the Predator Alumni (St. Charles, IL) by a single try in semi-final 1. Final score: 12-5.

The final againast the Irish was even closer. Flint out-scored their opponents by three tries to two. But the Irish converted both tries while Flint missed one. Despite the error, the final score fell 17-14 for Flint, bringing a successful debut to a close.

Flint are one of three teams to debut at the 2023 Lakefront 7s and win a championship.