Tech Rugby Places Fourth at National Tournament

New Mexico Tech’s Men's Rugby earned their spot at the national division three semifinals on December 12th. But injuries to key players left the side exposed in their matches against the country’s top sides. 

Being a contact sport, rugby often ends up being a battle of attrition, both within games and throughout a season. The Techies' fall campaign left them without three key seniors as they approached the national competition: Ben Medve (knee), Lucas Chavez (knee), and Tristan Herrera (shoulder). A dispute over eligibility also deprived them of super-senior-never-going-to-leave-Tech graduate student Niko Crosato. And then NMT’s starting flyhalf, Seth Cowan, went down with an elbow injury within the first five minutes of the semifinal against Slippery Rock University.

Head coach Jason Oliphant was forced to do a lot of difficult reshuffling. Scrumhalf David Vaquera played the majority of his minutes out of position at flyhalf. Lightning quick flanker Leon Sutulov was forced to play in the front row, with greenhorn Kol Fuirer coming to take his place at flank. While these players rose to the occasion, the team’s formerly well oiled attacking machine now ran rough. 

“Losing Tristan was a big loss,” noted Assistant Coach Milaan Van Wyk. “He’s one of our biggest attacking threats, and leads the team on defense.” 

The weekend’s two losses, first against Slippery Rock and then versus College of the Holy Cross, played out fairly similarly. On the positive side of the ledger, NMT’s scrum was absolutely dominant. Tech has the best scrummaging pack in division three, and likely in division two as well. And Oliphant’s side used it as a weapon, earning themselves multiple turnovers. 

But the backline, made up of the speedier, try-scoring players, couldn’t seem to find the try line. “We simply couldn’t convert game pressure into points,” observed Head Coach Jason Oliphant. Passes went awry, too often resulting in interceptions, knock-ons, and players running needlessly out of bounds. While the backs looked dangerous at times, especially Akong Chungong, they never seemed to lock into a rhythm and find cohesion as a unit. 

Tech crossed the try line only once in the both matches. The first was through winger Akong Chungong, and the second came from big bruising prop Gabriel Beltran. The rest of the team’s points were earned through Vaquera’s kicks at goal. 

Tech’s opponents, however, each put five tries past the chalk. Tech’s normally aggressive defense looked atypically passive in the two games, especially at edges of the field. Players too often tried to smother or swing the ball carrier to the ground rather than try to drive them back with their shoulder. As a result, it was too easy for both Slippery Rock and Holy Cross to build up attacking momentum. As each tackle resulted in a few yards gained, Tech’s defense found themselves constantly on the retreat, which became a downward spiral. A retreating defense, by definition, cannot come up aggressively. 

The scorelines, 29-10 against Slippery Rock and 29-7 against Holy Cross, don’t accurately represent the competitiveness of the two matches. Tech frequently managed to get within inches of their opponents try lines, only for their opponents’ defensive heroics or unlucky errors to send them back fifty yards. But such is sport.

For New Mexico Tech’s coaches, the team’s final games made the inadequacies of the fall match schedule crystal clear. “You simply can’t play final’s rugby after a four game season,” argued Oliphant. “The guys need a lot more exposure to high quality competition,” added Van Wyk. Unfortunately, a long-running schism between National Collegiate Rugby and USA Rugby prevents New Mexico Tech from playing nationally ranked teams in Arizona. The Miners may end up having to play independently of the regional leagues, if they want to better set themselves up for the playoffs.

After the holiday break, New Mexico Tech’s rugby teams begin their preparations for the spring 7’s season, a fast-paced version of the sport with seven players per side and seven minute halves. The men’s side seek to improve upon last year’s ranking of eighth in the nation, and the ladies team hope to make their first ever appearance at the championship tournament.