Missouri sits 3-1 after defeating Arkansas in the new Great Plains Conference. Their only loss is a very competitive 21-10 loss to conference favorites Oklahoma.
This is all part of the plan for not only Mizzou but Head Coach Chauncey Hatten.
"I think the biggest thing people need to understand is that what you’re seeing from Mizzou Rugby right now didn’t start this September," Hatten told GRR. "It started a year ago when I arrived the week of our first match. We weren’t walking into a finished product. We were walking into a program that needed direction, structure, accountability, and a standard."
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It's not surprising that takes time. Missouri had a losing season last year, but Hatten saw that as a key stepping stone.
"We knew what we wanted this program to become, and we understood that laying the foundation was more important than immediate results," said the coach. "Last year, we had roughly 24 players, with only 4 seniors. Then an influx of four transfers. The majority last year were sophomores learning a new system, new expectations, and a different mentality. Fast-forward a year, and those sophomores are now juniors. They’re no longer just learning the system, they’re leading it, teaching it, and holding each other accountable to it."
All of that, however, came thanks to a combination of holding players to performance standards, but also being patient. It wasn't going to happen in a week, and, in fact, it took a year.
The team, said Hatten, needed to change their habits.
