The way seems pretty clear for Middle Tennessee State and Central Florida to win their respective divisions in the South Independent Rugby Conference after both teams won big this weekend.

MTSU defeated Memphis 82-10 a week after dispatching Georgia Tech, and at 6-0 with two games to go, the Blue Raiders can only be caught if they lose their remaining two games and either Kennesaw State or Georgia Southern win all three of theirs.

MTSU plays both of those teams, and really only need a couple of bonus points to secure 1st. KSU and Georgia Southern are instead in a race with each other to get that second semifinal spot out of the North.

“We know we have to get by Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State, and they are both good teams,” said MTSU Head Coach Jody Hensley. “But while we won pretty comfortably against Memphis, I think we’re playing better as a team. We’re executing better, and showing better decision-making. We’ll need it.”

In the South, Central Florida haven’t clinched, either, but the Knights’ 38-0 defeat of the Florida International team that beat them in the opening week of the season goes a long way toward that goal. FIU, which started the season so strongly, was already in trouble after losing to South Florida by three two weeks ago.

(Please note that the score of the UCF v FIU game is in some dispute. We've seen three different scores - 38-0, 39-0, and 48-0. We reported the one on the Florida Rugby Union's official website)

They are now eliminated from contention for 1st, but can still make the semis if they beat Florida Atlantis and Florida State in their remaining games. FAU, FSU, South Florida, and FIU are all in with a shot at the semis. FSU, which has only played three of the eight league games, has a lot of work to do but can mathematically catch UCF.

It will be tough, though, as Central Florida, winners of the last two DIAA national titles, is on a role.

“The main difference between the team now and the team back in Fall is the growth and maturity aspect,” said UCF club president Scott Watters. “In the Fall, especially in our first meeting with FIU, we had a lot of young new players. Competencies in the game itself and cohesion as a unit was sparse. We have had a bunch of players who have never played the sport fill our ranks and did not get much time to bring them up to a playable standard. Since then we have progressively gained experience with this new team and have began to see how each other play and practice.”

This was evident when they won the SIRC 7s title.

“We have gotten the new guys to commit to our program and how we play as a team and our style,” said Watters - their style being a fairly simple pick-and-go attack that uses their big forwards. “We have practiced and practiced our game style to make sure that we hammer that in.”

And it has worked, and worked superbly against FIU. In wet conditions thanks to a big rain storm, the Knights adjusted their play, shortening their passes and  concentrating on ball retention - something that they do anyway.

“Our defensive play was very good and we made vast improvements at the breakdown area,” said Watters. “We attacked very aggressively with our forward pods and created a lot of space for our backs to make their moves.”

Chris Dayao was player of the game and led the forward effort both defensively and breaking the gain line on attack, while backs Dan Irion and Nick Beauchamp got on the scoresheet and handles the ball well despite the conditions.

It looks like it will all work out. Central Florida has just to keep playing the way they are playing and they should take the SIRC South, and the same goes for MTSU in the North. Who joins them in the semifinals is yet to be determined, but it still looks like the Knights v the Blue Raiders in the championship game April 5.