Arkansas State laid down something of a market this past Saturday, putting a pretty solid Davenport University to the sword 53-0.

It was the first game of the New Year for both teams, and a game that showed observers that the Red Wolves may be among one of the strongest college rugby teams this year.

“For the first 20-25 minutes it was a typical Davenport game for us,” said ASU Head Coach and former ASU All American Shaun Potgieter. “But after after the first 20 to 25 minutes it kind of was us cruising downhill - meaning it’s was good for us!”

Warmed up and loosened up, the Red Wolves were asked by their coach to move the ball and challenge defenses out wide.

ASU in black, Davenport in white. Steven Zomberg photos.

“Were kind of tentative and kept it tight early on,” said Potgieter. “But at halftime we chatted about it and started moving the ball around better. We got our formations set up, we spread the attack, and out loose forwards were covering the area. So it was good.”

Potgieter was pleased with the offensive approach, but it was the defense that really set the tone. A Davenport team that is used to scoring points was unable to get going.

Leading the way for the Red Wolves was No. 8 Kirk Pretorius. He missed last year due to injury and only came back in time for last fall’s game against Davenpot. 

“He had an outstanding game,” said Potgieter. “We had everywhere, in the lineouts, in loose player, tight in. We went over the game on film and his stats were pretty phenomenal.”

Another player who had been out with injury for a long time, Robert “Zinzan” Elan-Puttick took the opportunity to play without any hesitation. At flyhalf he ran the attack, said his coach, led well, and made several line breaks. He combined well with a center combination of Zach Young and Sione Fangaiuiha.

Arkansas State will take a week off, and then play Life, take a weekend off, and then play Alabama, and then two weeks later it’s the beginning of the Varsity Cup.

It’s a small number of games, but Potgieter says it’s enough.

“The guys are ready to play,” he said. “But I think it was a good thing for us to wait to start this late in the year. We got most of our game plan and players on the same page. Now we don’t have to do too many fixes, we can just tweak things. Playing every two weeks allows us to work on little things and have some time for recovery.”

Since the Division I rugby split into DIA and DIAA, and then the Varsity Cup was formed, four teams have appeared in the eight combined finals of DIA and Varsity Cup - BYU five times, Cal four times, St. Mary’s 3 times, and Life 3 times. That leaves one appearance for all other teams, and that was taken by Arkansas State in 2012, when the Red Wolves lost 49-42 to BYU in the DIA final.

Potgieter wants to get back to that kind of game. Since they have chosen to play in the Varsity Cup, that’s where they have set their goals.

“Being in the final - we’re thinking about it,” he said. “It is not out of sight, and we think we can make it there. What I like about this team and why I think we can get there is the culture of the team. We’ve got a really good culture and it’s getting better by the day. It’s a testament to the players, and [program director] Matt Huckaby, and [assistant coach] Blake White. We’re all on the same page.”