No movement in the second iteration of the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) rankings, but some changes have occurred in terms of the records that are reflected in the lists.
RELATED: NIRA Recap Sept. 14-15
There are some inconsistencies in how programs regard certain games – namely the 10s matches that are occurring in Tier 3. Teams that are playing 15s regard those 10s exhibition games as forfeit wins, while teams like New England College, Castleton and Molloy include those games into their records (if three 10s games are played, then the team that won the majority gets a single W). So in interest of simplification, teams’ records mirror those displayed on their respective athletic department sites.
With all that said, factors like strength of opponent, point differentials and shutouts carry more weight than records alone.
Four of five Tier 1 teams were active last weekend. Army West Point blanked fellow Tier 1 Quinnipiac, while Dartmouth played and won its first NIRA match against Tier 2 Brown. Notre Dame College played in-state rival Davenport University in a non-league game and lost to the perennial USA Rugby DI Fall Championship finalist by 18 points.
Brown wasn’t punished in the rankings due to the divide between Tier 1 and Tier 2. The competition within Tier 2, however, has our attention. AIC beat Sacred Heart by just 12 points, and yet there are still three teams – West Chester, Brown and Queens – between them. This upcoming weekend’s matches really have the potential to reorder the list:
Queens vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Brown vs. AIC
Sacred Heart vs. West Chester
LIU Post vs. Molloy
In Tier 3, Colby-Sawyer backed up its top rank, beating traditional power Bowdoin by 30 points. Norwich went 2-0-1 against New England College in 10s but the outing counted as a forfeit win. The Cadets will get the 15s match it’s looking for in the University of New England, which tied NEWCRC DII Maine last weekend, this Saturday.
