BYU Rugby wallops Wyoming

A perfect, crisp spring evening... A fresh, new pitch... A new stadium packed near capacity... Last Saturday represented every BYU Rugby player's dream come true. And the team certainly rose to the occasion, decisively thrashing #22 Wyoming, 73-3.

Only one word can describe the BYU Rugby team's routing of Wyoming: RELENTLESS! Again, there was talk that the opponent of the week might put up a fight. After all, they had beaten Utah in the preseason, 24-20, and had put up 37 points on #1-ranked Cal Berkeley this season (no one else has put up more than 20 so far). Nevertheless, BYU again removed all doubt with a decisive victory over a ranked team... the victim of the week being Wyoming.

As always, I must still give credit to the opposition where it's due. Wyoming, in spite of a sad first half, managed to stifle a number of BYU scoring attempts in the second half. Kudos to their defense for not giving up; BYU has tended to rip opponents wide open in the second half, running up the score as the defense crumbles. Wyoming, however, rallied in the second half and actually fended off many of BYU's frequent threats to keep the scoring more balanced than in previous matches.

Another credit goes to Wyoming for actually showing up to play as planned... I can't offer the same to Penn State or Colorado who both backed out of their commitment to play BYU on short notice. Both good programs? Yes... but every team has to take a few on the chin every once in a while. Just suck it up and take it (ask the BYU football team; they know what I mean!).

Finally, the majority of my praise goes to Our boys for putting on a great show in their first South Field appearance. No slow start this time, folks... No siree! BYU started the scoring quickly like never before (the scoreboard clock showed approximately 37:30, i.e. only about two and a half minutes had elapsed). And, drawing upon my previously mentioned buzzword, the BYU team as a whole was relentless in their offensive attack of the Wyoming line. It seemed like all the players were running the ball and driving it downfield throughout the entire match. I don't know if the high energy level was due to the new, hypnotic striped jerseys, excess of fans, or what exactly, but the players did not let up at any time.

Perhaps this over anxiousness was also their only weakness. A number of dropped balls from bad passes and knock-ons, as well as a fair amount of penalties, nullified several fast-paced drives that would have run up the score nearer to one-hundred points! But the BYU defense obviously didn't allow much retaliation anyway (not that Wyoming ever got to the point of formulating a solid attack). So, oh well, maybe this weekend against UVU or Boise State we will see an even more ridiculous score...

Good work fellas; that was one of the most exciting home games I have attended in a long time (the crowd of almost 2,000 people definitely added to the ambiance!). Just keep it up and, before you know it, we'll all be heading back to the Big Dance for the fourth year in a row!

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BYU vs. Penn State photos

Many other great photos of BYU's impressive win, as well as the Seconds' win over Boise State, may be found at the following links (courtesy of Paul Meyers):

BYU vs. Penn State

BYU Second XV vs. Boise State

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BYU Rugby rises to #4!

A new listing of the Top 25 by AmericaRugbyNews.com came out today with BYU in the #4 spot...

Now then, I know I got all of our hopes up that BYU would be #2 in the nation after their brutal handling of Penn State last weekend, but... I forgot to take into account BYU's lack of preseason games and its impact on the point system for the rankings!

My apologies.

Nevertheless, we can still hold our heads high after having ascended only one spot instead of three... all is not lost (nor ever was).

The BYU Rugby team will still be #2 as predicted... but, as the saying goes, "all good things take time."

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A little bit of shock and awe and... well... SMITING!

Where do I begin? The BYU Rugby juggernaut just chewed up and spat out #2-ranked Penn State, 86-14! Wow!!! ... Wow!!! .............. And wow again!!!

And so comes the deluge of inevitable questions...

Was Penn State way overrated? Sure. Is BYU really that good? As sure as anything good. What about #1 Cal Berkeley's massive, 105-3 win on the day over Chico State? Doesn't that ridiculous drubbing carry some kind of implications with it for BYU's National Title hopes??? I'm sure it does... but right now, I surely don't care.

BYU just put the hurt on a Penn State squad that seems to only see an ever-rising point margin in its last five bouts with BYU over the course of five years: on 4/17/05, BYU won by 9 points (44-35); 2/17/06, BYU by 32 points (42-10); 5/5/06, BYU by 49 points (52-3); 5/14/07, BYU by 41 (53-12... okay, so that margin slightly stopped the trend, but humor me a little here); and finally on 1/31/09, BYU takes it away, winning by 72! Ouch! Sorry Lions, but things haven't really been getting much better for you over the years against your Cougar counterparts!

Now, all things considered, don't point the finger at me for mercilessly bragging and snubbing my nose at Penn State...

On the contrary, I maintain a great respect for PSU... truly, I do. They are persistent and competitive enough to be a top-ranked team every year, no questions asked. And besides, BYU has similarly felt the ill effects of increasing point differentials in three years of painful losses to the notorious (is "infamous" any less harsh?) Cal Berkeley Golden Bears... Ughhhh! Bad taste in my mouth just at the thought...

But let's end on a positive note, shall we?

A win is a win, so they say... and, an avalanche is... well... no one really ever survives to say what that's like! (Ok, sorry to all the PSU fans out there; I will cease and desist with my oh-so-not-subtle digs at your expense.)

Best of luck to the Lions throughout the rest of the season, and to our Mighty BYU Cougars, ... ad victoriam et vitam aeternam!

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BYU Rugby... a couple of hours to #2!

In literally a couple of hours, BYU will face off against Penn State University in the annual Red Rock Tournament. While I must admit I was feeling a little edgy earlier in the week when I found out that Penn State is ranked #2 in the nation, nevertheless I learned that our rival Utes of the University of Utah beat them yesterday 34 to 17. Although Penn State led at halftime by two tries to one, Utah kept fighting and broke them down in the end.

Anyone familiar with the caliber of the BYU and Utah rugby teams can tell you that they both present solid opposition every time they play; I don't think any fan supportive of either team would dispute the fact. This being the case, I think it fair to say that BYU will do just as well as, if not better than, Utah in today's match. Yes, it will be a tough match... but I can't stop stressing the greater depth of new skill on the BYU squad than in previous years (e.g. the reserve team's wins yesterday over Boise State University 60-7 and Snow College 22-0 in back-to-back tests). They will fight it out and win going away...

And then, my friends, it's up to #2 yet again! (Who else would stand in the way?!?!)

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