GRR: Rugby East
Two 3-0 teams face off tonight in the Rugby East, with Penn State hosting Army at University Park.
Both teams come in with new head coaches - although at least Matt Sherman has been on the job for some weeks at West Point; Penn State’s new guy, Blake Burdette, has been in town only since Monday.
After two fairly straightforward shutout victories, the West Point men’s rugby team now faces a sterner test as the Knights host Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday.
For captain Donny Goff (no relation to this website’s editor), getting a tough test like the Cardinals is just what they need.
Penn State’s win over Wheeling Jesuit may well have put the rest of Rugby East on notice.
After losing to AIC in a non-conference game and then beating St. Bonaventure, but not by much, PSU’s win over the Cardinals might well be an indication that the Nittany Lions are sharpening their claws.
Penn State moved to 2-0 in the Rugby East with a tough 38-33 victory over Wheeling Jesuit Saturday.
WJU dropped to 1-1.
“PSU punished us for our mistakes,” said WJU head Coach Tal Bayer. “I am proud of our effort on the day. Our boys pushed until the end, scoring four tries. It looked like we might pull it out.”
Wheeling Jesuit opened their Rugby East conference account with an impressive 37-19 defeat of Iona Saturday.
In a tough, physical game, Iona shocked WJU a little early on with their aggressive defensive front, but the Gaels couldn’t get anything on the scoreboard for their efforts, and the Cardinals entered halftime up 12-0.