As openings go for most rugby updates this time of year: There was a lot of action last week! There were a handful of standouts, however, and this recap focuses on the U.S. and college matches that drew attention last weekend. Stay tuned for the senior club and high school updates. For a full overview and links to teams’ social media accounts, check out The Rugby Breakdown’s scores page.
The USA Women’s National Team kicked off the WXV 1 international competition with a test match against England, the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Although it was a 61-21 loss, there were plenty of highlights for the Eagles. Firstly, the score didn’t really open up until the final 10 minutes, when England were able to capitalize on broken play. But at other points in the match, the USA trailed 14-7 and 31-21, and had blocks of momentum. There were three really lovely tries — two from Alev Kelter, who breeds excitement into the squad, as well as one from captain Kate Zackary, who made good on a solid lineout — which also looked good with Kathryn Treder hitting the back pod. Other highlights included fullback Bulou Mataitoga (pictured below) stealing multiple restarts for the USA, and the line-piercing precision of vice captain Rachel Johnson and prop Hope Rogers. Watch the replay and then be sure to watch round two on Saturday, Oct. 5 against France at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Photo by Rich Lam – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
RELATED: Canada beat France 46-24 and are now ranked second in the world, and Ireland shocked New Zealand with a 29-27 victory. Read more.
In NCAA rugby, it’s lovely to see the expansion of competitive games in DI. Harvard and Dartmouth are both undefeated and setting the standard (see current power rankings), but Sacred Heart (32-16 L to Dartmouth), Quinnipiac and Brown are all adding pressure. DII saw the tightest game, with West Chester eking out a 38-36 win against Univ. New Haven — which is great from the Chargers. And in crossover action, DII Davenport traveled to Maryland with 19 players and beat Navy 82-11.
DIA’s Penn State traveled to Quinnipiac and the Bobcats showed out in the 61-7 win. Also in DIA, Lindenwood played its first non-intrasquad match against the St. Louis Sabres, and the B side won 28-24.
In National Collegiate Rugby(NCR) DI, the Big 10 saw #16 Notre Dame (Ind.) beat #4 Adrian College (Mich.) 53-14 and should jump up the Coaches Poll Top 20. First-year Mia Blocher scored five tries.
For the second week in a row, Colorado Mesa University played to a single-digit win in the High Peaks, beating Utah State 26-17.
In the Lone Star conference, Southern Nazarene (Okla.) doubled up with games against DIII Wayne State College (Neb.) and DII Oklahoma, and won both matches 90-0.
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The Midwest has been the most competitive DI league so far this fall, and last weekend kept with the trend. Northern Iowa leads at 3-0 and beat Iowa State 35-17; Winona got its first win with a 42-32 victory against Wisconsin; and Iowa topped Minnesota 54-41.
In the Rugby Northeast, UMASS put the pressure on UCONN in a 25-14 decision that favored the Huskies. Northeastern’s B side beat Rhode Island 44-7.
Lots of cancelations in South Atlantic due to the hurricane, but Howard University (D.C.) took one back against James Madison (Va.) with a 36-29 win.
The top NCR DII match occurred between #6 Roger Williams (R.I.) and Norwich (Vt.), which was not ranked on the Coaches Poll Top 20. The Cadets will no doubt debut on the list this week after the 34-34 draw. Norwich is idle this weekend while Roger Williams takes on Coast Guard this week — likely another highlight.
In other Top 20 upsets, #3 Vassar (N.Y.) beat #2 Fairfield (Conn.) 37-7, and the incomparable Sophia Bailey scored four tries from scrumhalf. Read more. • Big news in the Mid-Atlantic, as #11 Kutztown (Pa.) beat years-running champ #7 Temple (Pa.) 26-17. Stay tuned for an interview with Bears head coach Alex Artus. • In Great Waters, the unranked Univ. Illinois Chicago beat 2023 national semifinalist Illinois 38-34. Expect a Top 20 add there.
In the North Atlantic, #4 Coast Guard (Conn.) beat #17 New Hampshire, but only by 12-5. That’s a strong effort for UNH, so also expect an improvement in the Top 20.
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The Lone Star conference had a couple of divisional crossovers, and DII Univ. Texas San Antonio (#14) beat DI Texas A&M by a conversion, 22-20.
There were many cancelations in the Southeast, but DII Georgia Tech and DIII Lee (Tenn.) did play a friendly: 27-5 to the Yellow Jackets. Tech has great numbers this year and is 3-0 in SARC; stay tuned for interview with head coach Wilson Benjamin.
In addition to the Vassar vs. Fairfield match in Tri-State, unranked RPI (N.Y.) beat #15 Columbia (N.Y.) 47-22. That result might knock the Ivy League team out of the top 20.
In Upstate New York, SUNY Binghamton held off Univ. Buffalo in a 22-19 win, and 3-0 Syracuse has established itself as the team to beat. Its game against Cornell was technically a forfeit but a scrimmage was played.
In NCR DIII, the EPRU match between East Stroudsburg and York was a friendly, but the former looked good in the 38-0 win. They’ll see each other again when the stakes are higher.
Some good gauging matches in Great Waters, as UW Platteville (56-14 vs. Marquette) and Northern Michigan (72-12 vs. Michigan Tech) won their league games handily.
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All the results in the Championship tier of North Atlantic were lopsided decisions, but the Challenge bracket provided close games. Eastern Connecticut beat Univ. Maine Farmington 38-30, Wellesley beat Wentworth 20-17, and Southern Connecticut and Mt. Holyoke tied each other, 15-15.
It was a friendly match, but Rugby Northeast DIII Colby — which is ranked No. 1 on the Coaches Poll Top 20 — played fellow Maine school Univ. New England, a NCAA varsity program. The high-scoring affair went 50-48 to Colby.
Upstate New York is a fun competition to watch and the top teams are emerging. Both the East and West had two teams apiece that are 3-0. Clarkson has garnered attention after its 36-5 win against SUNY Cortland, a national semifinalist last year. Stay tuned for an interview with head coach Bob Newbanks.
Stay tuned for NCR’s updated Coaches Polls this week, as well as TRB’s recaps for senior club 15s and high schools.