It was a good start this weekend for Old Dominion, as the Cardinals Men’s DII Conference got off to a start for four of the seven teams.

ODU hammered William & Mary 60-0 in the opening weekend, a weekend that saw James Madison win a non-conference game and Radford beat Mary Washington 40-29.

For Old Dominion, which finished a close second to JMU last year, and Radford, which finished third, this opening weekend was very important.

ODU has lost only four starters from last year’s squad, and with their B-side winning 47-7, they have plenty of depth.

Mike Herron, a founding member of the Norfolk Blues, and Hennie van Zyl, their former coach, both coach the Monarchs. And with ODU having beaten a solid club team, Virginia Beach, during the spring, they have confidence, bolstered somewhat by a good showing at the Surfside 7s.

“Our goal,” said Herron, “is to win the conference championship.”

Led by captain Mike Rigual at No. 8 and vice captain David Roddy at flyhalf, ODU is also looking to returning starters John Zummo (scrumhalf) and Kevin Marley (hooker) for leadership.

Things get a little more heated this coming weekend, as Old Dominion hosts Radford. While ODU feels relatively confident, Radford Head Coach Mick Turk - who came out of retirement to coach his son - was more muted about his team.

"We are very young, and the first two weeks we've started three or four rookies," Turk told Goff Rugby Report. "I think it will take a while to get everyone on the same page. We won last weekend but it wasn't pretty. But we can be explosive at times and if we come together over the next few weeks we might surprise some people. Playing Old Dominion this early will be tough, though."

James Madison won the conference last year and opened up with that win over the Heat Elite, a team of college-age men out of the Hampton/Newport News city area. They play a non-conference, collegiate schedule and are coached by longtime rugby coach Lex MacCubbin in an effort to give those young men opportunities to pursue positive activities through rugby. The Heat Elite had a tough time piecing their game plan together, especially against a very well-regarded JMU squad.

Meanwhile, Madison has been awash in good news. After hosting the national playoffs, and with the men's and women's team both having accomplishments to crow about, the school gave the team a brand new IRB-approved turf rugby field.

"The school," said Head Coach Mark Lambourne, "has taken notice."

However, Lambourne doesn't want it to go to his players' heads.

"On of the tougher things to deal with once you do something like win the conference is to manage complacency," said Lambourne. "It's a challenge when you're working with young men to ensure you're always raising the bar, and that you're doing more than just working for this year. We want to build a program, build a legacy. We have aspirations."

Winning locally is fine, said Lambourne, but he hopes JMU can move up to DIAA, and he wants there to be a strong squad when this year's leaders graduate. That task deigns this weekend, as JMU visits Longwood.

September 13 Cardinals Conference Games:
VMI @ UMW
Radford @ Old Dominion
JMU @ Longwood
William & Mary @ Heat Elite (does not count in conference standings)