By Emily Mulcahey
Staff Writer
The men’s rugby club has put up tough competition this season against some of the best teams in their new division. The team has been competing in Division 1-A, the highest in the country. Following a game against Army, one so close it gave the audience whip lash, the Bonnies prepared to play the 7th best ranked team in the entire country, Penn State. However, this game did not end as well for the Bonnies.
Prior to the game, anxiety was present on the faces of the players but at the same time, so was the excitement. However, a crestfallen expression was present in each face after the game, when the Bonnies fell 81-5 to Penn State.
“Going into big games, a bunch of guys are excited to show their stuff against top competition,” sophomore wing John Hines said. “We weren’t intimidated going into the game, but I feel like as the game progressed, our guys got intimidated and ultimately, let them run all over us as they please.”’
Head Coach Clarence Picard said his team did not underestimate the quality of their opponent.
“We knew right away it was going to be a tough match,” Picard said. “On top of that, we’re struggling a bit with the focus it takes to take on these big teams. It’s one thing to get super pumped up for one big game, but then to have to come back the next week and the next week to do the same, it’s proven to be a big challenge.”
Having just held their own against the fifth-best team in the nation, it seemed that the seventh, Penn State, would be another close match. However, the game came as an unpleasant shock to the Bonnies.
“Miscommunication was our biggest flaw,” sophomore eight-man Luis Carpio said. “Penn State does a great job at attacking the line at a great pace. Regardless of what went well and what didn’t, we all have things to work on, whether it is fitness or skills.”
The squad has continued moving into higher leagues over the years. Now, the coach and his team have decided that this time will be no different, and with hard work and dedication, great changes can be made. It is not a Franciscan value to lose hope, after all.
“It is a real learning lesson as we strive to beat teams like Penn State and to become one of the top teams in the nation,” Carpio said. “It truly is motivation to work harder. This week we are getting back to the basics, amping up the practice intensity and putting extra focus into our defensive and attacking organization. The name of the game is fitness and toughness, and we are.”
With four regular season games left, the Bonnies have to mend their injuries and continue to work hard and fight through the season. With two of their most anticipated games behind them, the boys are getting back to basics.
“We have a bunch of injuries,” Hines said. “We’re battered and bruised, but we still fight. We just have to make sure that we play our game, work as a team and take it to the other teams as opposed to the opposite, letting them take it to us.”
No matter the team, or the final score, the men’s Rugby Club has not changed its outlook on the new division, or the season. They continue to stay positive and only use these experiences to build off of.
The Bonnies kick off at Wheeling Jesuit this Saturday at 1 p.m.
mulcahek12@bonaventure.edu
