USU women put the hurt on Montana
The USU women’s club rugby team took to the field Nov. 6 and played an astonishing three games against Montana, Utah Valley and a team comprised of Idaho State and Weber State players.
“This was by far the most demanding day our girls have had so far. Three games in one day is definitely not normal,” said head coach Hannah Turner.
USU won the first two games but lost the last game against the team from Idaho and Weber State. Reannon King and Jessica Little were the standouts for the Aggies on the field with their tough play.
“Little pushed through and was always willing to go back in. She played heads-up and definitely had the team’s best interest in mind. King was the leading scorer and she played very well in the backline,” Turner said.
The first game the Aggies played was against Montana, and the Utah State players came out swinging with a 29-0 win in the game. The team’s defensive play was rock solid against the Grizzlies after pitching a shutout in the hour-long game and taking advantage of opportunities to score. The next game was against Utah Valley University and this game was a closer one. The Aggies gained the early lead, going up 7-0 with a try — like a touchdown in football except worth five points — and a conversion, which is like an extra point kick except it’s worth two points and is kicked from any point along a vertical line from where the try was scored.
The Aggies let the lead slip away with a try, conversion and field goal by UVU to fall 10-7. The Aggies hadn’t given up, though, and in the final minutes drove down the field and scored a try and conversion to win the game 14-10.
“It’s amazing that they were able to exert themselves so well and I’m very proud of how they played,” Turner said.
The Aggies, tired and bruised, then had to play another game, and were beaten by the Weber State/Idaho State team by a score of 50-15. While the score might seem lopsided, it is hardly a true showing of the Aggie players’ abilities and skill. The Utah State team had already played in two games beforehand and each game had two 30-minute halves. After playing two solid hours of physically demanding rugby, one can hardly expect any team not to be dead tired.
Football players only play for a total of 60 minutes in a game and will never play more than one game per day. These tough, impressive rugby athletes played three. Two Aggies also went out for eight minutes apiece for dangerous tackles when they tackled other players around the neck. Penalties in rugby are similar to those in hockey because when a team has a player penalized, the team has to play one person down. As if this weren’t enough, injuries further plagued the team in the final game as many in the starting lineup were unable to play. This may have been a daunting task, but instead of throwing in the towel and asking for a forfeit, the USU team fought back.
“Even though we lost the game, we were able to score and keep our heads up. No one asked me to call the game or pull them out. They only came out when injuries forced them to,” Turner said.
These rugby athletes play in the only full-contact female sport in collegiate sports. The team plays again this Nov. 13 at home against state rival BYU at 11 a.m. on the HPER field.
“Today was a good day to play because we got our frustrations out and learned a lot. I’m confident for our game next Saturday (against BYU),” Turner said.
– jace.miller@aggiemail.usu.edu