Villanova looked impressive in a 58-7 win over UMBC on Saturday in Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference action.
This game was more competitive than the score might indicate. UMBC got possession and ran hard, however, the physical toll of their somewhat conservative game plan and having to defend against Villanova meant that the speedy and skilled Wildcats were able to run in a pile of tries late.
Of course, tries scored late still count.
UMBC started the game with the ball and worked it well in traffic. However, their runners didn’t line up with a ton of depth, meaning that they were still getting up to ramming speed when the Villanova defenders made contact.
Despite this, UMBC were very good at getting yardage after contact, with props Jason Brodie and Grant Gumbel especially difficult to contain. UMBC's problem was that it was slow going and far too much work.
In the end Villanova forced UMBC to kick, and that just played into the ‘Cats’ hands as they have a dangerous deep three led by fullback Rob Maclehose.
With lock Bobby Fooskas (who could probably play anywhere from 4 to 8) carrying hard Villanova got to the UMBAC 22, and then they spun it wide for wing Finn Murphy, who zipped in for the opening try.
UMBC stormed back and took a lineout when Villanova was penalized. No. 8 Onosetale Okojie popped smartly off the back of the maul and surged on to the line. But Villanova hung on and held the Retrievers up in-goal. Experience int he game matters and sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference. As UMBC walked back to receive what they thought was a 22 dropout, Villanova took the goalline drop and recovered it unimpeded.
Quickly the Wildcats attacked with a nifty break by Owen O’Keefe with flyhalf Nathan Caruso up the middle. The support was there to win the ruck and the forwards finished it off. That made it 14-0.
Villanova’s skill was starting to show. Many players were comfortable making quick, accurate passes and that allowed their speed to show. That confidence in their ball-handling allowed MacLehose and Caruso to run a counter-attack on the left side, which set up quick hands to Fooskas in the middle, and then speedy ball from that ruck to set up Murphy for his second.
Both of O’Regan’s tries were very nicely finished as he did have work to do.
That made it 19-0, but UMBC were undeterred. They found success with the pick-and-go and working those tight channels, leveraging their size and the aforementioned yards after contact. Somehow Villanova stole the ball back but a box kick to clear their lines was blocked, UMBC came back once more, and finally scored.
So 19-7 at halftime, and UMBC with a chance to get within a score.
