Men’s rugby falls to experienced UVSC squad
The Aggies were easily handled in their first season game against UVSC
In its first game of the season, the Utah State University rugby club was handled easily by a more experienced Utah Valley State College team, coach Nev Pulotu said.
“They beat us by quite a few touchdowns,” he said. “Our guys actually played really well for it being the first time playing for a lot of them, but UVSC has more veterans playing for them,” Pulotu said.
Saturday afternoon in Orem, the Aggies got off to a good start against UVSC after they took an early lead off of a field goal in the first two minutes of the game, giving them a 3-0 lead. That was the only lead the Aggies would get.
Fifteen minutes into the first half, the Aggies lead was taken over by UVSC when the Wolverines scored their first touchdown of the game.
By the end of the first half, the Aggies had allowed UVSC to score four touchdowns. UVSC ended the half holding the Aggies to the three points they scored in the first two minutes.
The second half was much like the first half, controlled by UVSC, but this time the Aggies were able to get a touchdown of their own.
Midway into the half, USU inside center Clark Jessop received a pass from his teammate Steve Hunt, and after running through the defense, carried two UVSC players into the goal to score the only touchdown for USU. The Aggies also scored the field goal following the touchdown.
“The goal got everyone pumped up, but the other team was packed,” Pulotu said. “That’s what killed us – their experience and our inexperience.”
Following the Aggie touchdown, UVSC continued to rule the field, he said. UVSC went on to finish the second half with five more touchdowns, ending the game with a total of nine.
A lot of the problem USU had was keeping up physically with their opponent, Pulotu said.
“Fitness is a big problem,” he said. “We need to work on our fitness a little more. We only practice once a week and that’s not enough running for us, especially when UVSC has been able to practice outside every day for three weeks now.
“It’s a rebuilding stage right now, and I like what I see,” he said.