This is a very exciting weekend in D1A rugby.
Leading the way is likely Life at Lindenwood, which is not a conference game anymore but still a massive rivalry match.
"It's not lost on us that this is one of the biggest fixtures in the American Rugby Calendar, but we believe we are fortunate to play in it," said Lindenwood Head Coach Josh Macy. "We feel pretty good about the match but it's always tough with rivalry matches. The match, and our opponent, deserve our best."
"We are excited to get back on the field and compete after our winter break," added Life DOR Blake Bradford—Lindenwood got a game in last week, but Life hasn't played since the CRAA Fall Classic (a 24-22 win over Saint Mary's). "We are happy with our preparations and look forward to the challenge of playing a quality side like Lindenwood. Our focus this week will be the same as usual, putting together a performance we can be proud of."
"Life is great in the set piece," warned Macy. "They basically have a national team staff. It'll take focus on our guys' part to counter whatever they bring to St. Charles. [Flyhalf Bradley] Crane also moves his team around really well. He's always putting their dudes in great positions on the field. We just want to play hard and do our best to limit their opportunities."
The break for Life isn't a bad thing—Bradford said it was much-needed. "The break allowed us to recover both physically and mentally and offered the players some family time while also working hard in the gym." However, they did need to run a second mini-preseason to get back into mid-season shape. "We have put a big emphasis on our strength and conditioning and addressing some of our weaknesses from the Fall. Despite getting some good results, we still have plenty of areas to improve our play and reach our full potential."
So that's one big thing. The other is probably BYU at Saint Mary's. Both teams have a lot of wins on their record, but many of those were games where they were heavily favored and won by a lot (one exception, of course, is Saint Mary's vs Arizona). Notable for BYU was a 43-28 loss at Navy in November. And notable for Saint Mary's was a 24-22 loss to Life at the CRAA Fall Classic. Both BYU and Saint Mary's were, you could say, undercooked at the time. Certainly they found out some things.
Talking about the upcoming game, Saint Mary's Head Coach Tim O'Brien invoked the Super Bowl, saying the team's approach was "No different than the Super Bowl champ Eagles: properly employing the systems and essential tasks and requirements of defense is what SMC will need Saturday to compete well."
Both sides are generally excited about this fixture because it will be one of the toughest of the season, certainly the toughest of the winter.
O'Brien said his players are "
100% eager, enthusiastic, and a touch nervous as BYU is a brilliant program."
What else? Cal Poly is a very exciting up-and-coming team, and they visit Central Washington. UBC is at Cal, which is a fixture everyone is happy to see again.
Please not UMW vs Penn State has been moved to Penn State and to be played on Sunday.
