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The PSU Rugby Club played three matches against Rougaroux, Crest City Blues (CCB), and University of Louisiana Lafayette (ULL) in Metairie, Louisiana on Saturday Feb. 23. The Gorillas were able to defeat both Rougaroux and CCB but failed to secure the third win due to extensive hours of play.
“Our performance this weekend was awesome actually, probably the best it’s been in the past 12 months…” said coach Grant Schultz. “We beat… Crest City Blues, (the) Louisiana champion last fall, and they are known as one of the best teams in the area and we beat them in our men’s club”.
The gorillas defeated the Rougaroux team with an impressive 31–10. They also battled against the Crest City Blues, last year’s champions and came up victorious 7–5. The performance by the club was, according to Schultz, “sloppy” and they “gave up some scores they shouldn’t have.”
He also said the loss against ULL “falls on conditioning” but Schultz was confident that they would improve on that in the future. Ty Goss, team captain and lock, displayed leadership during the close match versus CCB. Other players that stood out were Jake McDowell, loose forward, and Darius Willison center. When the team was down, he pushed to keep fighting and together they were able to score in the second half to earn their victory.
“We’re a very young team this year..,” Schultz said. “There are a lot of young guys who have been working very hard and improved and it’s really becoming noticeable.”
Schultz added that while the season started rough, he believes that the two wins will improve the team’s confidence.
“… There’s some wind in our sails, so I think we’ll just keep pushing with the wind” Schultz said.
Goss believes there is still improvement to be done to draw out further successes.
“We played like (a) team, everyone listened well, we played our game of rugby, not just go out there and kind of tried to make something happen out of nothing..,” Goss said. “I’m very proud of the boys overall going two and one on a tournament like this was awesome”
Goss cited improvement to be done to secure longer games such as conditioning, tackles, passes, ball movement, and closing holes on the defensive lines. He also mentions the game against the CCB was a very tough one as they were scored one in the first half but kept pushing through. The team was able to match the CCB’s effort and were able to secure a victory by completing a conversion
Coach Grant also mentioned anyone from the university can join their thriving rugby team. For more info you can contact them though their Facebook page (Pittsburg State University Rugby Club) or on their Twitter page (@PittStateRugby) or show Gorilla Pride at their next match Saturday March 2.
