Arizona Riding Strong Form Into DIA Mix
The University of Arizona has been creeping every closer to its rivals this year.
But that progress has been seen in competitive losses, one to BYU and one to Cal. March 4's very, very close win over UCLA also kind of his the Wildcats' progress. But this week, Arizona beat Colorado 56-12 in emphatic fashion.
With rankings hugely important in filling out D1A's 12-team playoff bracket, a win like that should help the Wildcats enormously.
"It was a pretty good performance," said Arizona Director of Rugby Sean Duffy. "Colorado is a good team and they made us work really hard for a few things. We were able to move some guys around, and test them ahead of what we think will be a postseason."
Sacramento State Secures Top Spot in California DIAA
In a game of significant import in the California DIAA Conference, Sacramento State defeated Fresno State 42-34 Saturday.
With the victory, Sac State ends the regular season 5-0 and in 1st place in the conference. While the California has playoffs, the #1 seed carries some importance because Sac State will host an up-and-coming but young San Jose State, while Fresno State will have to face off with a very physical Chico State team.
Kellan Fisch was on-point with his conversion kicking on the day, going a perfect 6-for-6, and that was the difference as both sides scored six tries. Fresno, led by another superb performance from flyhalf Isaiah Kruse, was dynamic and skilled, and Kruse showed why he's on the USA 7s team radar. But as the Bulldogs matched the Hornets try for try, they didn't with the conversions.
Navy Rolls Past Penn State For ECS Shield
Navy defeated Penn State 47-10 Saturday to move to 14-0 in a game played at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va.
The Midshipmen fell behind 3-0 after an early penalty kick from Penn State's Dalton Musselman. But that was the extent of PSU's scoring until late in the game as Navy reeled off 47- srtaight points.
“We’re happy to get another win against a tough Penn State team that beat us in Leesburg last year. We’re continuing on our journey with a 14-0 record which is good, but not happy with allowing the try in the final moments,” said Navy Director of Rugby Gavin Hickie. "I think we turned the ball over too many times in key areas that we have to address going into Army next week.”
Late Champagne Rugby Takes Lindenwood Over Life
Two well-taken and expansive tries saw Lindenwood break away from Life to win the second Mid-South game between the two Saturday.
Played at Lindenwood’s Hunter Stadium, the game was contested in cold weather with a swirling wind. Both teams wanted to play in the other team’s end but the breeze had a bit of say in that. Both teams wanted to dominate the point of contact, but the opposition had a bit of a say in that, too.
Early on, then, there was plenty of kicking, with Life flyhalf Bradley Crane trying to get his side out of trouble, and Lindenwood scrumhalf Matteo Peignon unleashing some very effective box kicks.
And it was a kick and chase that produced the first try. A very good box kick out of trouble from Peignon put the Life fielders under pressure and eventually a penalty for not releasing set up Peignon to tap quickly and snake over.
Kutztown, Brown Lead at Ariel Re 7s
Here are the scores from Day One of this weekend's Ariel Re 7s in Bermuda.
To see the whole schedule go here>>
Men's Collegiate Games:
UConn 22-17 Rowan
Kutztown 48-0 Harvard
Mystic Collegiates 38-5 Vanderbilt
Stony Brook 19-10 Cornell
Brown 34-0 Maryland
Bermuda All-Stars 27-5 Rowan
U. Notre Dame 28-5 UConn
Harvard 31-5 Vanderbilt
Kutztown 29-7 Mystic Collegiates
Maryland 31-29 Cornell
Brown 27-5 Stony Brook
Bermuda All-Stars 38-17 UConn
U. Notre Dame 29-5 Rowan
Harvard 5-33 Mystic Collegiates
Kutztown 58-0 Vanderbilt
Maryland 35-5 Stony Brook
U. Notre Dame 10-21 Bermuda All-Stars
Important Showdowns This Weekend in College Rugby
The big game this week is Life University at Lindenwood, with the Mid-South Conference on the line.
However, there is more to play, likely, with those two and with Davenport ready to wrap up a pretty solid conference season, too, we could well see three Mid-South teams in the playoffs. Might we see Life vs Lindenwood again? Yes, we might.
Navy hosts Penn State a week after beating Cal. That victory over Cal has had big ripples throughout the program. To host Cal and play them well is a big deal. To win in their first year of varsity status is even bigger. Paced by an exceptional back row and with prop Matt Thibodaux being co-player of the week at the Academy, the Midshipmen pulled off a startling result.
Beauchamp, Mills Join A&M Coaching Group
Texas A&M has filled most of its new coaching staff set to start this summer and into the fall.
The coaches named will replace James Lowrey, who is moving and announced this season will be his last. Lowrey is already working with new coaches to help the transition.
Texas A&M's Lowrey Moving On, Program Seeks Coaches
Assistant Coach (scrums) and Director of Rugby Johnny Smith announced to GRR that Luke Beauchamp will be the new Head Coach and Conor Mills will also join as backs/attack coach.
Slogging it Out Life Sets Up (Probable) Conference Decider
Life University's muddy slog of a win over Arkansas State this past weekend sets up a winner-take-all scenario in Missouri Saturday.
In what will be The Rugby Network's College Game of the Week, 3-1 Life will play 3-1 Lindenwood with the winner almost certainly clinching 1st in the Mid-South.
Mary Washington Tests Mettle vs Guelph
Mary Washington is one of those teams that plays a fall league schedule but has looked for more 15s matches in the spring, too, and Saturday the Mothers defeated the University of Guelph out of Ontario, Canada in a good contest for both teams.
Guelph finished third in the Canadian University Championships, losing to UBC in the semis 37-17. They presented a big, physically imposing, and skilled opponent to UMW. Despite some hard work on defense from UMW, Guelph got off to a fast start, scoring two unconverted tries to take a 10-0 lead.
Having the wind at their backs didn't hurt Guelph in the slightest and they made it work for them.
It could have been worse save for a superb tackle by Themba Martin-Weil.
California DIAA Latest
Sacramento State and Fresno State remain undefeated in the California DIAA Conference after both won Saturday.
Fresno State defeated San Jose State 48-28 to move to 4-0. Led by the playmaking of Isaiah Kruse, the Bulldogs are looking to continue the form that took them to an ACR DIAA spring title in 2022. Head Coach Stepan Antameysan said his team isn't there yet, but they are making progress.
"That group of 15 starters last year had 12 players who had been with the team for a few years," said Antameysan. "This year we have a mix. We have a lot of incoming freshman who can play and some guys who never played rugby before but are athletically minded and have their body mechanics down. They're mixed with some returners."
UCLA Gets PAC Conference Win on the Road
UCLA capped off the PAC Rugby Conference schedule with a 56-19 win over Utah in Salt Lake City.
This was UCLA's first victory in the conference (all teams play just the three games) after a tough home loss to Arizona 32-27 a week before.
"It was great to get the win but we also left a lot of points out there," said UCLA Head Coach Harry Bennett. The Bruins had six starters out with injuries, but all that meant was more players got meaningful minutes.
"I am pleased that we found some form, but there is still a lot to learn," Bennett added.
Those would include having patience at the right times, and good discipline.
Navy Outlasts Cal In a Classic
In a meeting of the #1-ranked team in the nation and the #4 team, top-ranked Navy held off a furious Cal charge to win 33-28 Saturday in Annapolis, Md.
On a windy day, both teams worked hard to be smart about the wind, but the breeze also played havoc with the lineouts, especially early on.
Playing against the wind, Navy was trapped in their own half for most of the first 15 minutes. The Midshipmen were able to get some possession, however, and kept it scoreless until a smart counter-attack from Cal got them on the scoreboard.
A smart grubber through from flyhalf Keelan O’Connell was fumbled a little by the Navy defense and Cal kept the pressure on. Eventually tighthead prop Charlie Walsh took a short pass and was over. Captain and fullback Max Schumacher slotted the conversion for a 7-0.
Latest College Commits For Fall 2023
Here's the first of our list of commits for players who will be playing college rugby this fall.
The list is a long one, but we expect many more to coming, especially if you use our handy form to let is know!
Use This Form to Tell Us Where You're Going>>
Many of our commits were found using the Next Phase Rugby app, which connects college rugby players and college rugby programs in a safe and smart way. Go to NextPhaseRugby.com to download the app—even if you just a freshman or sophomore in high school, this is a great way to get your rugby-related college search going.
Rankings, Conferences, Playoffs at Stake in College Weekend
While much of the college landscape is thinking about 7s, at the highest level 15s is still the order of the day.
It's Kind of a Big Deal
Cal at Navy is previewed here. Navy has been holding into the #1 ranking but this game has the potential to topple them. In context, Central Washington already has beaten Army, and it could be, if Cal beats Navy, that Cal could be #1 ... but it could also be Central Washington.
California Conference
Saint Mary's is the top team in the conference and should still be in that position after this weekends game at UCSC. Not that Santa Cruz can't play, but the Gaels are certainly favored. UCSB is at Cal Poly and this is a potential banana skin for a Cal Poly team that is looking for a playoff place.
Massive Top-Of-Ranking Clash as Cal Visits Naval Academy
Cal takes on Navy Saturday in a meeting of two of the strongest teams in DIA this season.
Navy swept through the Rugby East and it ranked #1 by DIA (and also in GRR's DIA rankings). Cal is ranked #4 by DIA and is #6 in the latest GRR DIA rankings. But Cal's ranking is a little difficult to confirm because they haven't played Central Washington; those two teams did both play Army and came away with similar results (CWU's was slightly better), and CWU's wins over Saint Mary's and UBC also point to them being very strong. Cal will be playing Saint Mary's and BYU after they take on Navy.
CWU plays BYU this weekend.
