It is a big weekend in what is mostly the preseason in Men's D1A, NCR D1, and D1AA rugby.

Everyone is still testing each other out ... although we do have the Heart of America coming into the regular season (we'll take a closer look at them in an upcoming article).

The Liberty Conference and the Mid-American also gets going.

So many of these matchups are really interesting and could have rankings ramifications.

In the Liberty, Brown at Siena is an early-season ore-playoff tester. In the HOA Iowa State at Iowa is a meeting of two 2023-24 playoff teams. 

In the MAC maybe the key game is Cincinnati at Bowling Green because ... GRR will be there. Is that a good enough reasons? Cincinnati is making a move so we'll see where they are.

Non-Conference Games

So many exciting games. Walsh University opens up the Walsh era, hosting Thomas More. GRR will be there, also, and, remember, this Walsh team is mostly the Notre Dame College squad from 2023-24 which won the NCR D1 title last fall. Notre Dame at Marian? Marian is poised to do some good things and playing well against Notre Dame will let us know something about that.

Indiana at Army is a very good test for both.

ANd let's take a look at Southern Nazarene at Iowa Central. ICCC had a good day against Iowa State last week.

Player Spotlight: Takudzwa Musingwini, Iowa Central

SNU has been building nicely and return a talented backline including fullback Ian Evans wing Jack Gilliland, and scrumhalf Dayton Bradford. The Crimson Storm has added a couple of overseas talents in Thomas Wilson from Ireland (Ulster), and grad student prop Angus Rich.

"It will be important for us to continue the upward trajectory that we've been on the last two years," said Head Coach Aric Gilliland. "We are looking to make big strides with a young group of players this year."

SNU plays an independent schedule, so while this is a non-conference game for Iowa Central, it's as good as a conference game for SNU—independent teams need to perform every single game.

"Each week will present a challenge," said Gilliland. "We are playing a strong mix of D1A, D1AA, and NCR D1 teams. Every one of our opponents, with the exception of maybe one or two, has the potential to win their respective conferences. We have an opportunity to do really well this year, but it will require tremendous focus and effort."