The University of Oklahoma defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 22-19 Saturday in a non-conference clash.

It was an important result for both teams. For Oklahoma, it was another step toward getting this team back in top form after a difficult 2014-15, and doing so against a tough opponent. For Kansas, it was yet another indication that the Jayhawks are here to play.

Oklahoma jumped out to a 22-5 lead behind tries from flanker Logan Ronan, flyhalf David Wallace, and fullback John Lamonte. Wallace also added a penalty and two conversions. Kansas got their try from Matt Harmon off a lineout play. For the Jayhawks, they were ruing penalties that halted attacking movements, and a soft try when a bad pass was kicked into in-goal and chased down for a try. 

But after OU No. 8 Robin Persegol went down to injury, KU started to come back. The Sooners’ driving maul kind of stalled without Persegol and that gave the Jayhawks more opportunities to go forward. Flyhalf Danny Buteyn's kick was chased down by Arnold Dinh, who wrestled the ball free and scored in the coner. AJ LaRocca kicked the conversion to make it 22-12. The another Buteyn kick was chased down by centers Dylan Floyd and Sam Tanner. Floyd hacked on and Tanner chased it down to score. That made it 22-19, which is how the game ended.

“I am happy that the team is still coming together,” said Oklahoma Coach Doug Neubauer. “We rucked well and were able to contain a dangerous Kansas backline and finish our tries. But we cannot let down against tough, competitors and the Jayhawks are a proud and worthy squad that was game to contest to the end. I am proud of the boys to finish and get a solid win on the road against a quality, well coached squad.”

For Kansas, after beating Missouri and sweeping a series of games in one weekend earlier in October, are looking seriously at a conference title.

“I believe our team is lined up to compete for the Heart of America title for years to come now,” said Griff Hastings, who is CEO of the Kansas Jayhawks club. “We have recently tapped into the Kansas City area high school market and starting last fall, we were getting very talented rugby players that had already been playing for a handful of years. That wave of freshman have turned into a very good core and after receiving another wave of freshman this fall, mixed in with some out-of-state talent, and a few exchange students, we have started our 2015 season very strong.” 

The Kansas team is, like Oklahoma, very young, but that’s a good thing. 

“We have three very knowledgeable alumni that have stepped in to start coaching and have done a phenomenal job thus far,” said Hastings of the Kansas team. “I think the biggest factor to our success has been the experience coming into KU. We no longer have to spend a lot of time on the basics so we can primarily focus on solid team rugby.”

The Jayhawks aren’t the biggest team on the field, but they know the game and work hard.

“We know we have smarter, fitter and overall better rugby players than the teams we have faced this far,” said Hastings.