Glendale, Colo. – The Lt. Col. Kevin Shea Memorial Rugby Cup is returning to Annapolis for the fifth straight season after a dominant 71-0 victory for Navy men’s rugby (5-0, 3-0) over rival Air Force.
“It’s always special to beat Air Force but even more special this year as we started with a young team and had a number of guys making their first varsity appearance,” said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. “I’m very happy that we managed the travel, altitude, weather and substitutes to ensure we picked up the pace in the second half and keep Air Force scoreless.”
The two squads remained in a scoreless tie through the first ten minutes of action but Navy’s top-scorer Lewis Gray put the Mids on the board with a try in the tenth minute for his tenth score of the season. A successful conversion kick from Roanin Krieger afterward put Navy up 7-0.
Navy added a pair of tries over the next eight minutes, getting scores from William Webb in the 13th minute and Ratu Osea Melibua in the 18th minute to take a three-score lead. Team captain Jack McMahon found the try zone for the first time since week one in the 38th minute and another conversion kick from Krieger gave Navy a 24-point lead at the half.
Navy’s offense showed no signs of slowing down after the break to score an additional 47 points, which is tied for the second most scored in one half this season. Vaughn Schmitz got things going in the second half with a try in the 42nd minute and a conversion kick from Krieger gave Navy a 31-0 lead. Osea Melibua scored his second try of the match four minutes later to put Navy ahead by 36.
Air Force managed to keep Navy at bay until the 54th minute when Ryan Bullock found the try zone for the first time this season. Krieger’s conversion kick put the Mids up 43-0. Navy hit the 50 point mark in the 62nd minute on a penalty try after a scrum infringement by Air Force.
