Palm Desert Makes Showing At Rugby Sevens

Three graduates appeared in full force at the 2011 Collegiate Rugby Championships Saturday in Philadelphia.

Robert Cardiff, David Samons, both seniors, and Adam Raize, a junior, play for the University of Arizona rugby sevens team.

Arizona, which takes the field again Sunday, won all three matches and finished in first place in pool D, part of the 16 team tournament.

Rugby sevens -- a sport gaining more popularity in the United States -- is a variation of the international sport of rugby. The sport usually features two teams of fifteen, but this tournament has just seven players on each team.

The sport is played on a field that is larger than a football field. Rugby sevens is now considered an Olympic sport and is expected to make a debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The tournament will be broadcast on NBC Sports on Sunday, June 5, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. ET (1:00-3:00 p.m. MT).  Universal Cable Sports will provide extended coverage on Sunday, June 5 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. MT).  Versus Cable will present additional action from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. MT).