Men’s rugby falls to national powerhouses
Playing back-to-back rugby matches is tough enough, but playing back-to-back matches against two teams with storied histories can be brutal.
That’s what the Utah State men’s rugby club was faced with when it played consecutive matches against BYU and the Highland High School club team Saturday afternoon on the HPER Field.
The Aggies dropped both games, falling to BYU, 65-3 in their opening game, followed by a 48-0 loss to Highland.
While getting blown out in two straight is always frustrating, Aggie club president Bryce Baxter said the experience of playing teams like BYU and Highland will only bode well for the future of the club.
He said this is especially true against a Cougar team he feels is usually the best in the country, but has never won a national championship due to national tournament games being held on Sunday.
“[BYU] is probably the best team in the nation,” he said. “Losing like this always hurts, but when we play another team, they’re not near as good as these guys, and we’re prepared for them more.”
As far as playing Highland goes, one might feel playing a high school team as opposed to a college team represents a big drop in skill level.
However, Baxter said this is hardly the case for a Ram program that has won 15 of the last 17 High School National Championships.
“They’re probably the most elite high school rugby team in the world at this time,” he said. “They could beat almost every college team.”
Although Highland co-captain David Cole said he feels his team has a lot of improvement to make, he said he is confident this year’s squad has what it takes to win another national title.
“I feel pretty good about our chances,” he said. “We have a lot of inexperienced guys, but we’ve been working hard in practice, and I think we’re coming along well.”
Things went well for the Rams in the first half against the Aggies as two Tevita Hautau scores, and tries by Nephi Stone and Raha Elkington gave Highland a 26-0 halftime lead.
A short-handed Aggie squad – the Aggies were without the services of several players, especially in the second game – refused to fold, however, shutting down the Rams the final 10 minutes of the second half.
The Aggies also had a chance to score late in the game, but Devin Dalton illegally fumbled the ball forward just inches from the goal line. Utah State had another near miss in the first half as Rob Child broke through the front line, only to be tackled by the last man left to beat.
Despite cruising to the victory, Cole said he was impressed with the way USU battled, especially in the second half. He said the Aggies just need more match experience.
“Just as long as they keep practicing and keep learning the game, I think they’ll improve a ton,” Cole said.
The Aggies will return to action Saturday when they host in-state rival Weber State University at 1 p.m. on the HPER Field. Friday’s match will be USU’s last home match of the season.
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu