Louisville, WMU Win Key Matches in the MAC

McLaurin scored the final try of the game to seal the win. Walton said it was reminiscent of the try he scored for the Chicago Lions 7s team in the national semifinal.

That score was set up by a thumping tackle by Tommy Eberle (Jack Eberle's younger brother), that forced a turnover. 

That was indicative of how the game went—turnovers like that produced positive results for Louisville.

"It was a gritty contest," said Louisville Head Coach John-Henry Carstens. "With the unpredictability of the MAC, an 80-minute performance was crucial."

Joining Louisville at 2-0 is Western Michigan, which edged a tough University of Cincinnati team 33-28.

Led by captain Adain Wardell, WMU is a number of pieces of the puzzle.

"With the never-ending support from Coach/Director of Rugby/Dr. Mark Allen and the expertise and tactical insight of Coach Ata Malifa we know our men will be well trained and fully prepared for an 80-minute battle week after week," said Head Coach Sanders Slevatz. "We have spent years working on building a strong rugby culture here at Western Michigan University Bronco Rugby, emphasizing honor, accountability, and integrity, as men, community members, family members, and rugby players.  We have built the program on hard work and humility.  Now, we need to turn those values into wins when the trophies are on the line."

But WMU wasn't perfect, or, more to the point, Cincinnati was very good at making things difficult. Yes the Bronco got solid showings from No. 8 Aidan Wardell and center Gabe Olivier, and flanker Nolan Vanloo made a big impact off the bench, but "we struggled to mount any sustained attacking rugby, spending a lot of time defending," said Slevatz.