Additionally, the match was the last in which captain Remigio Vitores will play and the last conference game of the season. At the game’s completion, St. Edward’s finished the season last in the Lone Star Conference with a 0-5 record.
The game, which took place on Feb. 15 at Huns Rugby Ranch in Austin, was initially scheduled last semester for Nov. 16 but was postponed due to a lack of available players. Stands were sparsely filled with fans, despite the clear and temperate weather.
In the first half of the game, St. Edward’s maintained strong control of the ball. When a player is tackled in rugby, a ruck is formed by members of their team by binding together which gets the ball back in their possession. This move seemed perfected by the Hilltoppers from the immediate start of play.
Both teams maintained dynamic and energized playing styles, but the University of Dallas was able to break through the St. Edward’s defense and score three tries in this manner. St. Edward’s had one similar play made by flanker James Williams who made a dramatic try. During the excitement of the first half, Vitores injured his right arm and was taken out of play.
With two tries and a penalty kick, the first half ended with a 21-15 score in favor of the University of Dallas.
“I think what the University of Dallas has going for them is that they have really great communication and unity,” UD student, and fiancée of the rugby club’s president, Olivia Badger said. “They also have great speed up front. It’s good to be home and watch them play down here in Austin, where I’m from.”
The second half commenced with a similar momentum as the first, with both teams alternating control of the ball and field. At several times though, play stopped in the match due to a referee’s interjections and calls. Such calls slightly favored UD, but not enough for fans in the audience to get rowdy.
Despite courageous and well thought out moves by St. Edward’s, such as a field-traversing kick by Vitores which bounced out of bounds letting the Hilltoppers gain substantial territory, the University of Dallas continued pushing. Ultimately, the Hoggies gained two more tries and cemented their victory against St. Edward’s.
As indicated on a post by the St. Edward’s rugby club on their Instagram, the match against UD is the last “15” of the season. This is a reference to the amount of players from each team during the match, moving forward the team will only have seven players each match. Moving forward the rest of the games the Hilltoppers will play are “friendlies” against other schools.
