Davenport made some history Saturday, beating Life University for the first time ever.

It's been 20 losses in a row for Davenport against the Running Eagles, but the Panthers continue to persevere and this year had enjoyed a very strong buildup.

In the end, it was Davenport's defense that told the tale. With the teams within a score, which was how the game sat for most of the afternoon, Davenport absorbed attack after attack from the Running Eagles. At least twice they held up Life and on several more occasions stymied them at the line.

Davenport began the game doing the same, defending patiently and holding Life up in-goal. It continued to be scoreless until Xijon Deacon went over. Donovan Law sped through for Life's only try of the day soon thereafter, and Bradley Crane's conversion for a 7-5 Life lead.

A huge run from RJ Pua set up a try for Mat De Villiers to put Davenport ahead 10-7. Davenport continued to work their way into Life territory, aided by an early ability to steal Life put-ins at the scrum. De Villiers slotted two penalty goals, while Crane added one to make it 16-10. 

Life sent everything they could after that to find a way over the tryline, but Davenport held on.

Finally, Christian Van der Westhuizen broke down the left sideline to go over and with the conversion from De Villiers Davenport had a somewhat comfortable lead.

. This finished the game and left them with the final score of 23-10. The entire team moved as one unit, and really built off of each other to be successful.

The win against Life University this weekend was one well deserved. The Panthers gave it their all and nothing proves hard work more than defeating a rival. History was truly made today, and Davenport Men's Rugby will continue to show their efforts on the pitch in upcoming matches.

"Tough one today," said Life Head Coach Colton Cariaga. "We faced some adversity and didn't really help ourselves due to our inability to convert opportunities and maintain possession. As the game wore on, we were dominant in the scrum though we were not always rewarded for it. Full credit to Davenport –  they were tough and had their tails up. Where do we go from here? It's pretty straight forward. We have to be better. There is room for us to better appreciate the small things off the field and in training and we will find that those things will lead to better outcomes on the field."