Men’s DI College 15s rugby is very quiet this weekend, so the two games of note better make some noise.

Saint Mary’s hosts Utah in one semi. Saint Mary’s looked shaky at times through the season. The Gaels pushed BYU 30-29 early in the season, but on a two-game trip to Utah lost big to those same Cougars and almost lost to Utah in a 57-50 barnburner.

“I don’t know why it was we gave up 50 points,” said center Dylan Audsley. “It was a strange game. Maybe we were looking past them, which we shouldn’t have done.”

What the team learned from that, though, said Audsley, is that defensively not everyone fully understood the defensive calls. The players focused on getting everything under control as a defensive unit, and the results have been clear, with a successful tour of New Zealand, and holding opposition points down (especially in the first half) since then.

Everyone has said that the Gaels turned things around on tour to New Zealand. Audsley said the team is a very different one from that which gave up 50 to Utah in March.

Head Coach Tim O’Brien said he’s been very pleased with the attitude, and also the development of the halfback position. Holden Yungert’s injury has been unfortunate, but the emergence of both Chris McDonell and Brad Roberts, and at flyhalf, Mike McCarthy’s return to that position has created an interior backline of McCarthy, Aaron Matthews, and Scholz Award-Winner Audsley that is as good as anyone’s.

So, now, it’s about handling a Utah team that just doesn’t quit. Led by Chad Gough, probably the best hooker in college rugby at the moment, the Utes are aggressive, and tenacious.

Meanwhile, Life hosts Lindenwood. And in this game, it’s another case of one team being fairly dominant in their semifinal, and another having to battle.

Lindenwood, without several players and without their head coach (in Zimbabwe with the USA U20s), got by Indiana, but it wasn’t easy.

“We knew IU would cause some issues for us,” said Jimmy Harrison, who is taking care o the team in Coach JD Stephenson’s absence. “They are a big, physical team that plays tough on defense and carries the ball hard to the line.”

“We focused on handling their strong ball carriers and ball security. IU is very good around the breakdown, we had to emphasize ball security. IU is a top talent and will be for years to come. They are a well-coached team with some good depth, roster is full of strong athletes.”

Lindenwood made some defensive adjustments and won 36-28, but if you want to talk about defense, you talk about Life. Head Coach Scott Lawrence is known as a defensive expert, and their last two varsity games, both against Davenport, resulted in shutouts. 

Life will not give points easily. Yes their last result against Lindenwood was 23-21, but 21 points will be very, very difficult for the Lions the next time around.

Life Webstream. Both games are expected to be streamed live:

Lindenwood at Life should be found here and kickoff is 1pm Eastern Time.

Utah at Saint Mary’s should be here, and kickoff is 1pm Pacific Time.