As usual, the world of DI college rugby in the southern part of the middle United States is a tough prospect.

Teams have to travel far to find competition that is right for them, and those opportunities are precious.

Last week, North Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas met in a tri-state tournament that was basically designed to get players on the field early on. It worked nicely. Oklahoma came out looking good, winning two A-side games and two B-side games, with Manny Soto scoring four tries on the day.

"Typical pre-season rugby," said Oklahoma Coach Doug Neubauer. "All teams were playing new players and trying to find their own. UNT hosted a nice event and had support from the Dallas Harlequins for all teams with cold water on demand."

Arkansas went 1-1 among A-sides, beating North Texas but losing to Oklahoma. That loss, though, was a close one, 26-24.

"It was a strange game," said Arkansas Coach Warren Fyfe. "They dominated in the first half, but we were able to come back and control the second. It was very close."

Arkansas is still looking to build depth - oddly, the team's recent success has worked against them in that some potential players have been nervous to join because the team is so good. Fyfe tells them the nervousness goes away quickly and suddenly you're part of the team, but it's all a work in progress.

The Razorbacks don't have Jack Casey, who is studying abroad this semester, but have seen Corey Jones return after time away from school. Alex Rees remains a central part of their attack, and they certainly had their moments last week.

Coming up this week, what was supposed to be a jamboree involving four teams is now a scrimmage with Arkansas State. That's always a tough fixture for the less-funded, and usually smaller Arkansas team. But with the Red River Conference games coming up, they welcome any and all challenges.