GRR: St. Mary's
Saturday there’s the little matter of a DIA championship to be figured out.
For the third year in a row, Life University plays St. Mary’s, and perhaps the first hope is that it will be an entertaining, open game. The last two have been marked by aggressive defense, and the idea that the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
St. Mary’s will meet Life University once again in the USA Rugby DIA final as the Gaels defeated a determined and plucky Davenport University 48-32 Saturday in Moraga, Calif.
St. Mary’s dominated in the first half, but had to weather a furious Davenport surge in the second half.
If you’re one who enjoys seeing interesting facial expressions on people, tell St. Mary’s players and coaches that Davenport has the best scrum in the country, and watch them wage internal battles to not reply.
It’s not like things had been going badly.
St. Mary’s had been playing quite well - yes they’d lost to BYU twice and Cal, but those games had all been close, and the Gaels seemed to be set for another run at the DIA final.
So is this the St. Mary’s team that took apart Utah in Moraga, or the team that lost to the same Utes in Salt Lake City?
Is this the Utah team that seemed at sea against a speedy and decisive Gaels squad, or the one that beat St. Mary’s 49-21 and playing some wide open rugby of their own?
Well, let’s see.