The NCR D1AA Semifinals: Who Makes It Through?

12.03.2024

Just as the NCR D1AA playoffs heat up the temperature chills out.

This coming weekend in Reading, Pa. is expected to be cold … very cold … but the four teams remaining in the playoffs will have to shake that off to make the final what everyone hopes will be a warmer final a week later in Houston.

Kentucky vs UMass

The #1-ranked Kentucky Wildcats emerged as the only team to win their quarterfinal by a wide margin. They did it with their Head Coach, Sam Enari, away at a family commitment. But Director of Rugby Gary Anderson was there and so were many of the players UK had been waiting for.

“This was probably the first game where we’ve been mostly healthy,” Anderson told GRR. “Last year through the whole run we were healthy. This past game was probably the first time we had the whole crew out there and the first time we played the expansive rugby we want to play.”

This was probably why they scored 63 on a very good St. Joseph’s team, winning by 46.

With Gage Curry back off the injured list and the Keough brothers Joe and Luke making waves in the backs, the Wildcats looked like they had the potential to repeat as NCR champions.

Fullback Ryan Paul, a freshman, played a key roll at fullback and, said Anderson, “handled himself like a veteran.”

The Wildcats play what could be the stingiest defense in the competition. UMass continued to hold opposition points down and in the quarterfinals the Minutemen held LSU to just two tries in a 27-12 victory.

Back at training after the Thanksgiving break, which Head Coach Phil Ciccarelli said was much needed, UMass is in a good place.

“The preparation going into LSU was phenomenal but trying to keep that level of intensity up over three weeks would have been tough, so a few days rest will invigorate the boys going into Kentucky,” Cicarelli told GRR. Using the university’s indoor practice space in the mornings has helped, and has allowed the team to train with consistency whatever the weather.

Anderson at Kentucky looks at UMass as a bit of an unknown quantity.

“We know the SEC inside and out,” said Anderson. “But UMass is hard to pin down. They press pretty hard on defense we have to be ready for them, for sure, but we’ll see how they handle Jack’s boot [referring to flyhalf Jack Phillips] and how they handle four negative phases in a row.”

Meanwhile, UMass is looking at Kentucky’s attack as a challenge.

“Kentucky has a lot of weapons and move the ball quickly,” said Ciccarellu. “If we make the proper defense adjustments and control the pace of play we will do well. I think we will match up well.”

Virginia Tech vs Bowling Green

This is a matchup between a Hokies team that won the NCR championship twice and a Falcons team that has been in the mix almost every year and won USA Rugby’s D1AA fall championship in 2018.

Tony Mazzarella’s Bowling Green entered halftime of their quarterfinal with Clemson down, but rallied to win it. Mazzarella said it has been a strange season; in many ways the Falcons have had one of their best seasons in recent years, but at the same time they haven’t always played well … or should we say consistently well.

“I think we can play better,” said Mazzarella. “Against Clemson we did what we needed to do as far as our strategy was going to be, and the biggest part of that was not to give them the ball back when they kick. But after playing well in the first half we let them off the hook, either kicking the ball out on the full or missing touch on a penalty. If we didn’t make those mistakes we would have made it easier on ourselves.”

The Thanksgiving break can be a double-edged sword acknowledged Mazzarella. Bowling Green is on a bit of a roll, so it does interrupt the flow. At the same time, some players have been able to recover from nagging injuries and BGSU should be healthier as a result.

They play an uncompromising Virginia Tech side.

Club president Kyle Cooper said Tech is really starting to show improvement in their backline communication. That has been a work-on since their 44-39 overtime victory over Boston College.

“The second half of the game we improved our communication, and that along with the hard-hitting effort from the forwards led to the comeback,” said Cooper. “I have seen how dominant our backline can be when everyone is on the same page and communicating, so making sure we are prepared and flowing as one cohesive unit will be crucial going into the game against Bowling Green. Something that allowed us to get this point is the versatility of the entire team. Most of our backs have the ability to play almost any position within the backline and they actively fill in roles on the fly during the game. The same can be said for the forwards, most of which can play multiple positions within the pack.”

But there’s also their Burn the Boats motto that keeps Tech going.

“Virginia Tech is a team that has won it all,” said BG’s Mazzarella. “They’re going to know what they’re doing; they’ll have a game plan and they will execute it. All of that will make what we need to do even more difficult.”

Added Cooper: “I think the work ethic and toughness of this team is incredible.”

Both teams had to battle to get here, so they won’t flinch easily.

UMass vs Kentucky at Penn State Berks, Reading, Pa. 11AM Saturday - Live Stream on The Rugby Network>>

Virginia Tech vs Bowling Green at Penn State Berks, Reading, Pa. 3PM Saturday - Live Stream on The Rugby Network>>

The final will be in Houston on December 14.