New Hampshire took a huge step forward Saturday with a 22-12 defeat of a very good UMass Lowell team.
UNH, ranked #39 by GRR while Lowell was ranked #13, entered the game 2-1 in their conference after a somewhat humbling 29-7 loss to University of Vermont. But that result, said Coach Kyle Parker, was a bit of a wakeup call.
"Coming off last week we really wanted to tighten up our offensive structure that we have in place and our forwards, specifically our second rowers, really ran the ball hard."
UNH started four rookies against UML because of injuries and they all took that opportunity to put in a performance.
"We had some key plays and some very heads-up plays that got us into position to put points on the board.."
But it wasn't a one-off. The UNH players say this is about a major program change.
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Culture
"We’re hitting a new wave in UNH rugby; the program has completely changed," said co-captain Mody Abdel-Salam. "We started with a really strong 7s season and we've brought that passion, that effort, that energy to this season. It's made the program blow up and we have such a driven team with a lot of guys itching to prove themselves."
"If I had to point it to anything it’s the culture we’ve built as students," said club president Griffin Sypek. "We build each other up. It's a brotherhood."
But there have also been some times to be tough with each other. Coming out of last week's loss to Vermont they had to take stock a little.
"We were a little upset," said Abdel-Salam. "UVM was good for us because it showed us we aren’t yet as good as we think we are and that we still need to put in the hard work. So this week we wanted to show that we deserve to be here."
All of this—the change in the attitude and the culture and the good balancing of having fun and being serious—is a result of the leadership, said Quinton Martin. "That attitude comes from the top down. But we’ve also been really blessed this year with strong freshman class and an environment that is very positive."
Add to that the coaching. This is the second year that New Hampshire has had this coaching staff that includes Jonathan Cheyne, Sam Christy-Rubin, and UNH Rugby alum Parker.
Cheyne, said the players, has been an important addition because, not to put too fine a point on it, he's tough on them. He's not afraid to be critical and show they aren't reaching their potential.
"We want coaches that are constantly pushing us to continually improve," said Abdel-Salam.
