MRU Rugby Club comes out on top against Saskatchewan
By George Potter, Staff Writer
After taking a hard-fought 38-26 loss against the University of Calgary (U of C), the Mount Royal University (MRU) Men’s Rugby Club suited up for their game against the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) on Oct 16. They walked away with a strong 24-14 victory on their home field. The game had intense action and featured a number of momentum shifts that went on right until the final buzzer. Thanks to this effort, the Mount Royal squad might still be able to keep a playoff spot open in the Prairies University Men’s Rugby league.
The tradition of the bagpipes being played as the team first went out onto the field was very powerful and got the blood pumping. Right after kickoff, the two teams clashed to get to the try zones.
Mount Royal’s front row forwards were able to run through the U of S a couple of times throughout the match. There were also many chances for both teams’ backs to make a big run which would eventually be stopped.
During the game, the referee had to stop for a moment to have a talk with Mount Royal’s Captain Matt Taylor due to concerns over high tackling. He gave a warning that if there was any more high tackling in the game, there would be more disciplinary action taken, threatening a yellow card.
The first try was scored by the U of S. They successfully made a conversion to get the extra points to jump out ahead in the game. Eventually, Mount Royal was able to come back and score two tries and two conversions in order to strike back thanks to MRU’s Konor Yee, Logan Johnson and Thomas Pawley.
In the second half, Mount Royal was able to keep their momentum up. MRU’s Johnson would score his second try of the game. However, there was no convert and the U of S would eventually come back and score.
On a U of S scoring attempt, MRU’s Craig Jones intercepted the ball and was able to score a try. There was no convert for extra points.
The game’s final score was 24-14 in favour of MRU. It was a great match and Mount Royal could have a good chance to secure a spot in the playoff tournament that will be hosted on Oct. 30 at U of C. They will be playing the University of British Columbia Okanagan in the tournament. The winner will move onto the Prairie Finals.
