Rugby falls to SLC club
Saturday was a disappointing day for the Utah State women’s rugby club, as they lost to the Salt Lake Slugs in a close 12-8 game. “They are a good team,” said Aggie player Tara Earl. “We fought well.”
The fighting mood was shown in everything the teams did, from the foul language in the opening Slug chant, to the last intense fight for the ball, feet away from a USU touchdown.
USU, now with a league record of 1-2 compared to the Slugs 2-0, went into the game with the force of a rocket.
The teams battled out the first half, leaving no prisoners as they kicked, tackled and hit their way through.
“It’s part of the game,” said Salt Lake’s Heather Armstrong, who was kicked in the face, trampled on and tackled by USU. “You always leave bruised.”
About 20 minutes into the first half, an Aggies’ line-out resulted in a scrum feet away from the line.
The Aggies took full advantage as Erin Stutzman scored what would be their first and only try. They then missed the extra kick making the score 5-0.
A line-out is when the ball is kicked out-of-bounds or the player with the ball is tackled, or steps outside the line. The ball is then thrown in by the opposing team to her teammates, who is lifted in the air by two others to catch the ball.
The catcher then throws the ball to the backs depth line, who can run and pass the ball down to a try. If the catcher is not quick enough, she can be tackled. Once on the ground, she must let go of the ball, or if the other team catches the ball, they can run it.
The game raged on as each team took turns controlling the ball and trying to make the best of it.
After another hard battle, the Slugs finally got their chance to retaliate, and did. They scored a try and made the kick bringing the score to 5-7 into the half.
In the second half, the teams once again fought like dogs, each trying to gain possession of the ball.
At one point in the half, the Aggies’ assistant coach Dennis Kholer said, “It is starting to look like a hockey game.”
And it did look like one as the women tackled without mercy.
The Slugs scored a try again after a scrum but missed the extra kick. It brought them to the final score of 12-8.
Although the team played well, they could not pull through for a win.
“They are a very strong team and we played well against them,” said USU player Rachael Dennis.
-viv_ramirez@cc.usu.edu