Lindenwood travels to Texas to take on Arizona this weekend in a non-conference clash of two DIA hopefuls.

Lindenwood is ranked #3 by D1ARugby.com (see rankings here), and Arizona is #11. GRR ranks all DI programs regardless of DIA or DIAA or Varsity Cup, and we have Lindenwood at #5 and Arizona at #21. On paper, then, it looks like Lindenwood should win, but Arizona is feeling pretty good about what they have,

“We're pretty excited,” said Arizona Head Coach Sean Duffy. “The guys are starting to really gel and the leaders are emerging to support the captains in running the show.”

Arizona ran out sort of a 2nd side against New Mexico and those players showed well, beating the Lobos well and getting one or two of the starters from that game to earn a start this weekend.

“Lindenwood is a great program,” warned Duffy. “JD and I subscribe to the same school of thought where you want to battle test your team before the meat of the conference season picks up. Playing good teams makes us better on field, and traveling makes us closer off of it, not something we can understate in a group as young as ours.”

“These preseason games really matter,” added Lindenwood Coach JD Stephenson. “We know how tough the Mid-South is, so we want to get as much rugby played as we can before we start that season. We have learned that winning the Mid-South puts you in a great position, but if you’re 2nd or 3rd you really have to slog through the playoffs.”

The players named to the USA U20 team for February 13 won’t be in this game, so Arizona missed lock Sean Coleman, prop Mason Pederson, wing Tyler Sousley, and hooker Steven Branham. Lindenwood, too, will miss players, as loose forward Malon Al-Jiboori, wing Deion Mikesell, center Lorenzo Thomas, and prop Chance Wenglewski all are expected to sit out.

The losses will likely hit Arizona more, not because they don’t have a big squad, but because their squad is younger in general, and some of those players were expected to play a big part in this game, and next week’s against Cal.