Rugby Men Man-Handled by Utes

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by Blaze Bullock

The Utah State men's rugby team took a beating in their 43-0 loss to the University of Utah Saturday at the HPER field.

The Utes were on offense for almost the whole game as the Aggies struggled to get the ball away from their own end zone.

Everything just seemed to go the Utes way as they dominated the Aggies in almost every aspect of the game.

Utah State had a hard time even getting possession of the ball as the Utes had good ball control skills. The Aggies also had a hard time tackling throughout the game which attributed to a few of the Ute touchdowns.

Utah State came close to scoring once in the first half but were stopped just a few feet short from the goal line.

Jeremy Hanks, a junior at the lock position, said that he still enjoyed playing in the game despite the loss and that the Utes are always a good team.

"I still had fun, it's always fun. They're always good competition and we get a lot of experience from playing them," said Hanks.

The Utes didn't get anything easy in the game and were only up 10-0 at halftime.

Early in the second half the Utes took the ball down the field for a touchdown and made the score 17-0, which seemingly deflated the Aggies.

No matter what the score was Utah State never stopped trying. Down by 31 points in the second half the Aggies came close to scoring and were giving it their all to score before the Utes kicked the ball down the field and out of bounds, ending the Aggies' drive.

"We don't give up," said Rodriguez

Sophomore and first year rugby player, fullback Chase Rodriguez said that he likes winning but just likes playing the game.

"I love it (rugby) period. Winning makes it better but I just love to play the game," said Rodriguez.

Because the game against U of U was not a division game it doesn't hurt the Aggies standings in their division.

The Aggies fall to 2-2 on the season and 2-1 in the division but remain at second place in the division behind Utah Valley University.

To USU's credit, the Utes are a division 1 team and ranked in the top five in the country, the Aggies are a division 2 team.

The Senior Prop player for the Aggies, Dan Walker said that the Utes simply played better than the they did on Saturday afternoon.

"They just outplayed us as a team," said Walker.

It was USU's third game in a week. They played Utah Valley University on Oct. 25, Salt Lake Community College on Oct. 30 and then of course, the University of Utah on Nov. 1. The three games so close together played a part in the loss as the Aggies were noticeably tired in the second half.

The Aggies will try to improve to 3-1 in the division on Nov. 15 in Boise, Idaho at 1 p.m. for their next and final game of the season.