UNC Charlotte Making Statements
UNC Charlotte Making Statements
Two weeks have seen two straight impressive results for UNC Charlotte.
Playing in the Southern Conference D1 league, the 49ers plays in a mix of NCR D1 teams —Lander, Wingate— and NCR D1AA teams—NC State, Appalachian State, and UNC Charlotte themselves. This is an improvement for the region, as the teams are now more numerous and more competitive, overall. They opened up with a clash with South Carolina, a game they tied 10-10. Then last week they followed that up with a 24-15 defeat of a solid NC State team.
Head Coach Robert McCachren said that when he took on the team three years ago the Southern Conference D1-level league was certainly in need of help.
"I knew the reputation the conference had and I wanted to change that," McCachren said. He set a goal for the team to start moving up in the divisions, and that required recruiting. With a fairly inexpensive tuition, especially in-state, and with a slid pool of high school student-athletes as a recruiting pool, the 49ers were in position to build their roster.
"My first year we had a solid starting 15 and a poor bench; then we had a solid starting 15 and no bench," said McCachren. "Then we started recruiting and we brought in 17 ew players this season. Now we have a solid starting 15 and a solid bench. We have four coaches, now, and we're building depth."
McCachren credits his use of the NextPhaseRugby app for helping land that many recruits.
After making the final of the CRC 7s, where they lost to NC State, UNC Charlotte Rugby figured that the teams in the Southern were raising the level.
"To make the final was big but knowing that the team we lost to was in our conference, as well, showed us how we're all getting better," McCachren said.
So now to the recent games, in which they held USC to 10 points and NC State to 15.
"We pride ourselves on our defense," said McCachren. "If we win a game 5-0 then great! We did feel that we shot ourselves in the foot against South Carolina. We missed some scoring opportunities. And then against NC State we were still trying to figure out what we're doing. We haven't reached out potential. Really the awesome thing is that we as coaches feel that in our first two games we played maybe a C-Plus or B-Minus game. We're just scratching the surface."
What NC Charlotte brings to the table is a team of, as McCachren put it, "thumpers." They enjoy the contact in the game; they like to hit. Against South Carolina twice they handled a goalline stance of over 10 phases, tackled hard, and forced a penalty to get out of trouble.
Graduate Cam McKinnon has been outstanding at center and provides some important maturity and leadership. He used to be a forward and scored on a pick-and-go close-in against NC State, giving a nod to his rugby roots. No. 8 Wayne Robinson, the team captain, is, said his coach, as physical a runner as he's seen in the game. Defenders do not enjoy tackling him.
The player of the game was wing Lucas Fountain, and his big play was a torrid chase on a box kick into NC State's 22. Fountain blasted his opponent with a strong tackle, jarred the ball loose, picked it up, and scored.
It's that kind of intensity that has UNC-Charlotte feeling positive.
"We scrimmaged against the Charlotte men's team to start the fall," said McCachren. "They have some big, mature forwards, and while we have tons of fitness and endurance, we hadn't faced a big pack like that. What it did was make the other packs we've faced not seem to scary. That gave us confidence, and there's a belief now, a buy-in."
