Tim Benz: Pittsburgh Steeltoes set to debut in Premiere Rugby Sevens opener

A new Pittsburgh sports team makes its debut Saturday as part of a growing league that will bring one of its premiere events to the city next month.

The Pittsburgh Steeltoes of Premiere Rugby Sevens (men’s club and women’s club) will play their first matches in Austin, Texas, as part of the league’s opening weekend of competition on CBS Sports Network.

The Steeltoes women’s team plays the first game of the evening against the Southern Headliners (Memphis) at 5 p.m. The men’s team takes the field at 6 p.m. against the New York Locals.

The league began in 2020 and expanded to eight teams this year. The Steeltoes are in the Eastern Conference with squads from New York, Memphis and Texas. The Western Conference clubs are in San Jose, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The league operates all eight clubs for both genders.

Similar to 3Ice, the three-on-three hockey league that came through Pittsburgh last year (and will again June 28), the four teams from each conference will square off in various cities and play multiple matches in a tournament-style setting.

“You really have to have it in this barnstorming festival style format, where you bring in a bunch of teams and put a bunch of games on because the games are so short (14 minutes), and they require rest periods,” PR7s’ founder Owen Scannell said during a phone call last week. “Format-wise, we’ll look to grow and create this kind of traveling circuit with increased stakes. I think that kind of replicates a little bit more what you’d be accustomed to seeing in auto racing or golf in that type of format.”

Pittsburgh will host the Eastern Conference Finals on July 23 at Highmark Stadium. Scannell sees Western Pennsylvania as a fertile market for expansion of the game. On the grassroots level, Rugby Pennsylvania reported to PR7s that it has 78 youth and high school rugby teams registered for the 2023-24 season.

“Pittsburgh is a hotbed for rugby,” Scannell said. “There’s a really tremendous tradition and active ongoing participation with collegiate programs, high school programs, men’s and women’s clubs. We really liked Highmark Stadium as a venue as well. As a sports town, it’s kind of second to none in North America. We’re really excited about being able to bring the first pro rugby of any kind to the market.”

The Steeltoes were assembled via a regional tryout at Chatham on March 19. One of the players on the team is Mikhail “Misha” Shorin. The Pittsburgh resident is a former Kazakhstan National Team member.

“Rugby is as intense a sport as American football. That’s why it is going to gain the attraction of Pittsburgh fans,” Shorin said through an interpreter.

PR7s — seven players on the field per side with five reserves — is the highest professional level of rugby sevens in the U.S. and became the first professional sports league to launch with male and female players competing under one umbrella.

As opposed to the more traditional style of 15s, the sevens format is played on the same size field. But more space is created for players, amplifying the speed, scoring and action of the game. It’s also the format used for the Olympics, while 15s is the format for World Cups.

“It’s an accessible version of the game for new fans,” Scannell said.

American Rugby might not have the tradition or big money outlets at the professional or international levels that might be seen in other nations. But Scannell does see significant crossover from high-level athletes in other sports who might not make the big time in, say, the NFL, MLS or NBA who might want to take on rugby as top-level competition.

“Our league has athletes that were Division I basketball players, Division I football players. Last season, we had an Olympic gold-medal track star,” PR7s public relations coordinator Eric Nemeth said. “We’ve had a couple of guys that were fringe NFL players, practice squad guys, some that signed early on that then transitioned over to rugby and had success in the sport.

“The parallel to that would be the fans. I think there are a lot of fans of the NFL that would enjoy this. The sport, in general, lends itself well to having some of those NFL, MLB and NHL fans that you would find in Pittsburgh that would want to give this a try. Just like the athletes that gave it a try and had success in the sport.”

Because of that natural crossover appeal, Shorin sees “huge potential” for his sport to flourish in Pittsburgh.

“Rugby actually kind of combines a little bit of all of the other sports like basketball, like martial arts and like boxing,” Shorin said. “Our goal is to perform the beautiful game, and that should be attractive.”

They’ll have a chance to do so for all of Pittsburgh to see next month at Highmark Stadium.