Asked to characterize Sean Hardiman’s game at scrumhalf for Iona in their victory over Army this past weekend, Iona Head Coach Bruce McLane was succinct - “he played the best game of his life.”

Good timing for Hardiman, as he did so against a formidable opponent. Hardiman himself said his day, and the team’s day, came down to a lot of self-belief.

“They were a lot bigger than us, but our toughness level is amazing,” Hardiman told Goff Rugby Report. “We had played them really close last year and we all felt we could beat them. Every game we’ve played this year, we’ve felt that when we’ve given up points, a lot of times it’s us giving away those points. We knew if we didn’t do that, we’d be OK.”

Hardimann provided excellent service to his backs, defended aggressively, and provided plenty of go-forward with his box kicking.

“The idea was to put up the box kick and be really aggressive and force them into mistakes,” Hardiman said. “And then the forwards were just giving us such nice, clean ball.”

Hardiman also produced a flash try of his own, taking the ball off the lineout, snaking by a defender and popping a kick over the top that he gathered for the score.

“It was risky,” said Hardiman. “But I just had a feeling. I put the kick right where I wanted it, and it worked.”

Hardiman did not play rugby in high school, but his dad played and he has been around the game for years. He always intended to play rugby for Iona, and it has worked out.

“It’s great, I love it,” he said. “We’re playing so well together right now.”

Sean Hardiman is our Aircraft Carter Solutions Player of the Week.

See the video that includes Hardiman's try below. If you don't see the video, please refresh the page.