Going into the fall season in the Gateway Conference, the expectation was that St. Louis University would be favored to win, and Principia would, as the Thunder Chickens did last year, be the main challenger; but nobody asked the UMS&T players.

Missouri University of Science & Technology has, in successive weekends, defeated both SLU and Principia, edging St. Louis 12-5 on September 26 in St. Louis, and then hosting the Thunder Chickens in Rolla, Mo. to the tune of 39-5.

Tommy Burrows, who has served as player-coach for the last couple of years, said the change for his team is a small one for the Miners.

“Last fall we were very good on defense, but we had some trouble offensively,” Burrows told Goff Rugby Report. “We focused on making our first-up tackles and not letting that first one go. That worked well for us, but because we had problems on defense we lost close games - 8-5 to Principia, and 15-14 to UMKC. We thought if we could improve on offense we’d win.”

With some alumni help this fall in coaching, and experienced undergrad Ryan Hanify, the Miners entered this fall with a little more confidence.

“SLU was our biggest concern,” said Burrows. “But we held them to just one try, and we felt that was a pretty good indicator of how our season can go.”

Against SLU and again in the Principia game, UMS&T still relied on their defense, kicking the ball deep and using their tacklers to forces mistakes. With enthusiasm and confidence up from the St. Louis game, the plan worked even better against the Thunder Chickens. The Miners scored early on a snappy run by scrumhalf Jake McConnell off the base of the ruck, and eventually scored 39.

“We keep it simple on offense, and it was tough to get points on the board at first,” said Burrows. “But we were able to open it up.

The season actually didn’t start out too well for the Miners, as starting flyhalf Tyler Matthews broke his foot in a warmup match against Truman State. But wing Brandon Bollinger, who played at St. Louis University HS, has slotted in at the pivot and performed well. Funnily enough, Bollinger wasn’t a flyhalf or a wing in high school - he was a hooker. Last year’s No. 8, Cody Boynton, was moved to outside center and has been impressive in the last two games. Up front, the same group of forwards, for the most part, have been together the last two seasons. Zach Oberkrom is a monstrous prop who was player of the game against Principia.

When he tackles players, they take a while getting up, he hits that hard. Locks Dane Meyer and Burrows set the tone in the engine room.

But the work Burrows has done to fill in on the coaching, take care of the administrative duties, and help the team move from a social approach to a more serious rugby approach, have been influential, as well.

Burrows points to his former high school coach, longtime Kansas City-area rugby everywoman Tracey Davies, for instilling in him a love of the game and a desire to approach it the right way. 

“Our theme is to go back to the 1980s, when the program was really strong,” said Burrows. 

With two of the top Gateway teams already defeated, the Miners may well be growing the big hair and buying the Members Only jackets. What they have shown is that defense, and maybe a little bit of offense and a bit of an attitude shift, can work wonders.

This coming weekend's games:

Washington U at SIU 

Maryville at Principia

UMS&T at UCM