August went out with some fireworks in men's collegiate rugby as we saw some high-finishers clash over the weekend.
As already reported, the US Naval Academy shut out St. Bonaventure 50-0, while West Point defeated Queens University Charlotte 75-7.
We also saw Walsh defeat Rio Grande on the road 36-7, and Indiana come back to beat Kentucky on Friday night.
But there was more going on.
Kutztown and Fairfield played in a bit of barnburner in Pennsylvania. KU ran out to an early lead and seemed to be in control. But Fairfield battled back and continued to play strong throughout. Eventually Kutztown won 52-38, but they weren't really able to shake Fairfield.
For both teams is was a good outline. Fairfield realized they can score tries and got a bit of shot of confidence in understanding what they can do even against an overall faster team. For a relatively young Kutztown, wins were hard to come by last fall so this is a solid start.
"Like most teams on our first match, had some errors but the resiliency to continue to stick to the game plan was spot-on," said Kutztown Coach Jeff Duke. "Our attack was good. Good hard carries from our forwards and the backline was able to run in open spaces. Our defense side was good at times, but need we need to continue to get better."
Iowa State took on Iowa Central CC in what has become a regular early-season matchup for both teams. ISU's front-line starters did well to open up a 26-10 lead before Iowa Central's better depth closed the gape to 26-22.
Zach English scored two at center and freshman Brudy Buhman was effective for the Cyclones.
Notre Dame played Indiana Tech in a game divided into four quarters, and while IT scored first one a breakaway by German Gonzalez, Notre Dame had the run of play the rest of the first half. They got a nice chip-and-chase try from lock and former Leinster U18 Luke Ingle, who plays second row because he's 6-7 but actually has a lot of experience at center. It showed with that try.
Fullback Lazarus McCarthy out of DeMatha HS in Maryland showed an excellent sidestep and turn of pace in breaking out of his own 22, and then intelligence to use his support to set up a try. He also scored a try as UND led 24-5 after the first 40.
Indiana Tech added a penalty in the third quarter, but the Irish powered over for a 31-8 lead. In the closing moments of the third section IT pressure forced a penalty and off a quick tap center Crew Kaylor burst onto a pass and scored for the Warriors. Two tries in the final quarter made it 31-29 (the video of the game has it 29-29) which was a good comeback for IT.
Notre Dame Head Coach Justin Hickey was pleased to see 40 players get game time on the day, including 20 new to the program. Six were playing their first rugby game.
"Some freshmen especially raised their hands," said Hickey. "We were just happy we exposed some issues and some had a chance to prove themselves early. Game management and ball security are always an early fix."
So an educational outing for both teams, as is the purpose of the fiture.
