After claiming two victories during the weekend, the St. Edward’s University Rugby Club has secured itself a spot in the state playoffs.

The rugby club defeated Angelo State University and St. Mary’s University at home, meaning it has yet to lose a match this season.

For the first time this season, St. Edward’s played two 20-minute rounds in the second half during the game against Angelo State.

Andor Beyni, Jake Bacon and Faris Al-Sheri all scored in the game against Angelo State. Benyi also made all-conversion kicks and one penalty kick, resulting in the final score of 24-5.

St. Mary’s forfeited their match, resulting in the second win of the day for St. Edward’s.

Recently, the rugby club’s roster has grown to 40 members since the beginning of the spring semester, and according to junior Hugh Devore, the number of members continues to increase.

“It’s really cool seeing people who have never played rugby come out to practice and catch on real quick,” said Devore.

Members of the rugby club trained individually over winter break to stay in shape. and the team regrouped a week before classes began to start official practice.

“We focused on fitness and ball work to get back in the swing of things,” said senior Alek Hernandez. “I feel like that’s really helped us move forward as a team.”

The rugby club’s current record is now 8-0. Senior Robbie Stephens says the success of the team is due to the work ethic of the players and coaches.

“Our goal is to make sure everyone gets a chance to play,” said Stephens.”We make sure to get everyone out to practice and hold each player accountable to the team and to themselves.”

The rugby club’s next match will be held on Feb. 5 at 5 p.m. at Southern Methodist University, and they will begin the first round of state playoffs on Feb. 19.