Oklahoma moves to 1-0 in Central League Play

   The Oklahoma Men's Rugby team beat a physical Oklahoma State team in Stillwater  on Saturday. The match was hotly contested and the result was in limbo until the final whistle.

   OU came out hot, as has been the case this season by taking an opening possession through multi-phases and finishing with a crashing  try by 2-row sophomore Jon Poynter.  It looked good for the Sooners early but OSU came back with a multi-phase attack of their own 10 minutes later to tie it up with  their big #3 Chip Price.   

  The game settled into a back and forth affair that remained physical the entire match. With 15 minutes remaining the half, OSU found the try zone again off of a OU mistake and scored with #7 Greg Hudson.

  OU sophomore #8 Eric Meyers scored once again to add to his high season total to tie things up going into the half 14-14.

  At the half, Oklahoma captain Jack Meek rallied his team and they seemed to be a little more inspired going into the second. That enthusiasm was dampered somewhat by OSU's #8 Chris Young who took the pass off of some sloppy passing at the corner and turned it into points with Ryan Greer slotting his third conversion of the day to make it 21-14 for the Cowboys.

  Play remained physical for the intra-state rivals and play suffered at times because of it. Tempers flared as they often do in this match but the captains were able to maintain order and no one was binned. Referee Varnell also did a good job of cleaning up play and letting players know what was expected at the breakdowns.

  Oklahoma kept up the pressure and were able to keep OSU's very athletic wings somewhat in check and were eventually rewarded with a try by senior Spenser Scott. Mike Gamache missed on the conversion and OU was within 2. Playing with urgency OU kept putting pressure on the OSU forwards and were eventually rewarded with a penalty that Scott slotted to give OU a 1 point lead with 10minutes left in the match.

  Defense was the word on the lips of the Sooner leadership. The best defense proved to be a nice offensive drive that ended with fullback Adam Stewart darting in for a try in the final minute.  Scott was good on the conversion and the final was OU 29- OSU 21.

Positives- We were tested by a physical club and were able to respond and do what we had to do to win. The win gives us a good start on our Central League season. Our forwards continue to gel as a unit even though we have gone through many changes in personnel. Adam McCall played his best match to date at flanker. Sophomore Cody Basel was able come off of the bench and give us quality minutes late. We need these younger players to produce when needed.

We need to keep up our early strike capabilities but need to follow them up with more points and not fall into a lapse as has been the case lately. We head to College Station to play an always tough A&M squad. We have a good week of practice ahead of us to prepare.

Coach Forehand