LSU Shakes Up SCRC With Tie vs Kentucky

10.20.2025College Men

Kentucky against Marian 2025. Photo Alex Goff.

LSU pulled off a huge result this weekend, holding two-time defending NCR D1AA champs Kentucky to a 31-31 tie in SCRC action.

For Kentucky, this was yet another reminder of how competitive the SCRC is, and while it’s likely the Wildcats will retain their top spot in the West due to points difference, it was a good lesson for them.

For LSU this was another step in their rebuild to national prominence. A nice influx of local high school talent, especially from Brother Martin, has sparked the Tigers. In addition, having Jack Wiggins come on as a coach has also helped.

Wiggins served as the defense coach and HP Director for NOLA Gold, and while that Major League Rugby team is now on hiatus, he is remaining in Louisiana and looking to do some coaching. He was asked to help coach the team and has jumped on the opportunity.

“When I started coaching these boys I really just tried to bring about some professional ways about how we train and bring in some systems around attack and defense which have made a big difference in a short period of time,” Wiggins told GRR.

They knew Kentucky would be a tough game but they had done some scouting and study and had a game plan.

“The game went pretty much the way we knew it would, but little bit of lack of execution at critical times in the game probably cost us,” said Wiggins.

LSU came out of that match feeling that they should have won.

Kentucky came out shaking their heads as the pressure of the match (and perhaps carrying that Kentucky legacy) caused problems.

“We had an uncharacteristic amount of knock-ons,” said Kentucky Head Coach Sam Enari, using that as an example of why the team didn’t play well.

LSU scored on two interceptions, which also might be seen as a deficiency in awareness.

In the closing minutes, both teams had opportunities to affect the outcome. After a late try, LSU got a penalty right off the restart and took a five-point lead at 31-26.

With no time left LSU took the lineout and really just had to win the lineout and kick to touch and the game was over. But Kentucky opted for a different look in the lineout. Normally they challenge a throw with a jumper up front. This time they opted for all three UK jumpers to shadow the LSU jumpers and try to disrupt there. It worked, as freshman lock Elliot Smyth went up and disrupted the throw, allowing the Wildcats to secure the ball at the back.

Kentucky started to work through phases, with a nice half-break from freshman Deagan Sarty, on at flyhalf, and another from center Alex Dempsey to get Kentucky into scoring position. Sarty, who had thrown a pick-five moments earlier, had shaken that off to direct the attack nicely.

Wing Ed Durham got them closer and the forwards finished it off to make the score 31-31.

It was a very windy day, with the wind blowing across the field somewhat, making conversions difficult. Dempsey aimed his conversion attempt at the far post, hoping the wind would blow the ball in between the uprights. Instead the wind blew the ball all the way across and it hit the near post. No conversion, tie game.

“All they needed to do was win that lineout,” said Enari. “We’re frustrated by the performance and there were portions of the game where we were playing touch and they were playing tackle. I know the players were saying we were only one pass away from blowing teams out. Yes, but that one pass away ended up being a turnover. We needed to maintain that competitive maturity, and maybe for a few guys the moment was a little big. But when the crucial time came they fell back on their training and pulled the game out.”

For LSU, center Tyler Anclade scored three tries to follow up on his three-try performance in a win over Kennesaw State. Flanker Nick Piazza and Anthony Ayre also touched down, with Nate Williams converting three. Lock Neal Geldenhuys has been a force as captain, while Wiggins had praise for his props Jack Roniger, Cooper King, and Evan Coullard off the bench.

“It’s been a collective effort,” he added. “Particularly in this division, if you get a team that’s organized and put some systems in place, there’s not a lot of difference between the top and the bottom.”

Even with the result, Kentucky is 1st in the SCRC West. They edge LSU on points difference and will play Clemson, the #2 team in the SCRC East, in the playoffs. LSU will take on Tennessee.

LSU Shakes Up SCRC With Tie vs Kentucky

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