Rugby team suffers second loss in a row at hands of Utes
In a match against the University of Utah, the Utah State University men’s rugby team received its second loss in a row and learned what their weakness is, coach Nev Pulotu said.
Following the game USU got together and talked about what they need to do to start playing better, and the statements were all the same, Pulotu said.
“Our breakdown is our fitness,” he said.
From the beginning the Utes controlled the game, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the first 10 minutes. Slowly USU brought up their intensity and held the Utes to only two more touchdowns in the first half.
The second half ended with the Utes scoring four or five more unanswered touchdowns, leaving the Aggies without a point.
Because it was a friendly game, Pulotu said, they didn’t even worry about keeping score. The game was more for both teams to get experience, he said.
Although the Aggies were blown out, they did improve in a few areas of the game, Pulotu said.
“Overall our defense was a lot better this time than last time,” he said.
Along with defense USU also improved on their scrums.
During the game the Aggies won just about every scrum they had, even after putting rookie Brady Firth in the scrum position for the first time.
Firth played the scrum the entire second half and was named the USU player of the game.
“Firth is the most improved player I’ve seen,” Pulotu said. “He’s got raw talent and a lot of determination.
But for the freshman it isn’t as easy as it looks, Firth said.
“It’s definitely cool to be able to play with these guys and play well, but sometimes it’s hard because they don’t want to listen because I’m younger,” Firth said.
USU is excited about the new addition to the team and is already looking forward to the future, Pulotu said.