Wary of Next Two Weeks, Bonnies Eyes NCR Playoff Return
Wary of Next Two Weeks, Bonnies Eyes NCR Playoff Return
There's still plenty to play for in the Rugby East, not least because of the CRAA/NCR split.
Certainly the top NCR team in the conference will be in the NCR playoffs, and probably two or three. Right now the team looking like it'll be the top NCR team (at the very least) will be St. Bonaventure. Sitting at 5-1 in the conference Bonnies has two games to go. If Navy beats Army on November 5 and then St. Bonaventure beats Navy on November 12 we will see three teams with just one loss. In fact, we could see four, with Queens now 4-1, and their postponed game with Kutztown didn't get rescheduled.
In the end, for Bonnies, which won the NCR playoffs last fall, it matters little—they just have to take care of what they take care of. Despite some graduations they are back at the level they were playing before, and perhaps a bit better.
Head Coach Tui Osborne says it has been a difficult season, in some ways, with injuries and a little bit of finding their identity. But the merger of the Chesapeake Conference and the Rugby East into the larger Rugby East "has been great. We are learning a lot about ourselves as well as learning about these other teams. The challenges have created opportunities to learn and to bring players up from the JV to push for spots."
With Ricky Rose leading the charge in the forwards and Keelin Coyle having a breakout season, St. Bonaventure has continued to improve. This past weekend they beat Mary Washington 48-14, and Osborne points to their lone conference loss, to Army.
"The loss to Army made us wake up," said the coach. "We know every week is a challenge and we have to be ready every week and be up for games."
So upcoming is Southern Virginia, followed by Navy a week later. They cannot afford to look past SVU and Osborne won't let them.
"David Smyth is a great coach and you can't ignore SVU. He's going to have his guys playing good rugby and be really physical," said Osborne. "But it's what we wanted—to have tough, competitive matches every week."