Eutectic Rugby Competes in Bermuda
UHSP Men's Rugby travelled to Bermuda to compete in the Bermuda International 7's tournament On March 15th and 16th. While the trip was the first time many of the players had visited another country (and some their first time on a plane), the competition was a high level, with eight USA-based college teams in the 10-team tournament. The team flew in to L. F. Wade International Airport on Thursday afternoon and settled in to their accommodation at the Warwick Army Barracks – home to the Royal Bermuda Regiment (https://rbr.bm). Friday morning the team brushed off the jet lag with a training session in the morning before heading to the Bermuda National Sports Complex to compete in the evening.
Cheered on by three sets of parents who had come to support, UHSP's first opponent was Norwich University, a military college out of Northfield, Vt. The Cadets were a new side, with little experience, but what they lacked in experience they made up for with athleticism, fitness, and physicality. With a penalty try for a high tackle on sophomore Chrisbengel Raymond and a converted try from freshman captain Hunter Clarke, UHSP led at the half, 14-7. Norwich answered back early in the second half to tie things up and then went ahead by five points with another try. Poor discipline towards the end of the second half saw the Vermont team yellow-carded for a two-minute penalty resulting in playing with six men. The numerical advantage gave the Euts an opportunity to score late in the second half, but an uncharacteristic error gave the possession back to Norwich who then ran the clock out to finish the game 19-14 in Norwich's favor.
The second game of the evening saw UHSP face off against Iowa State, who the Euts had faced a few weeks prior in the Hawkeye 7s. The game started well for UHSP with a breakaway try from Dalton Peters from the kickoff. Peters then scored the second try also and just before the end of the half freshman James "JD" Allen scored his first try for the program to end the half 17-0. Second half tries from freshman Gavin Portell and Raymond added to the lead before the Cyclones scored a breakaway try from deep in their own half. A final score from freshman Austin Novak led to the UHSP team win at 30-5.
The last game of the evening saw UHSP face off against tournament favorite Dartmouth University. The Big Green side was well drilled and filled with some of the country's top talent. They ultimately proved too much for the Purple and Gold men, who were unable to find an answer to Dartmouth's 36 points. That ended the evening and the pool play stage of the competition with UHSP Men's Rugby recording one win from three. "It was a disappointing start…" said Coach Lang in his sideline interview at the end of the day. "You have to take the chances you are given and cannot let up at any point, and I feel that is what we did against Norwich. We will see where the seedings leave us later this evening, but that first loss will probably come back to haunt us."
Coach Lang's fears were well founded. Going into Saturdays play, the team found themselves as the seventh seed and drawn against Dartmouth's 1st and 2nd team for the first two games of the day. To make things even harder, two players were unable to compete on Day 2 due to injuries (Portell and Peters). Having travelled with only eight players, that meant that the brave Euts would have to play a man down in all their games. "Playing against a top team like Dartmouth twice is a tough ask, but to play them with a man down is even tougher," said Lang when asked about the draw. "But, it is good experience for the boys to practice playing a man down, which happens occasionally in sevens. Normally when that happens, it is a yellow card offense which last for two minutes. So to play the entirety of both games will be very hard physically and mentally for the boys, but it will help them in the long term."
UHSP fell to Dartmouth 1 48-0 and Dartmouth 2 38-7 with a single try from playmaker Chris Raymond.
Those two losses meant a final game against Iowa State again. In a display of comradery and sportsmanship, Iowa State took the field with six men to match the UHSP numbers. Hunter Clark started the scoring with a cheeky dart through the middle to score the first try. Sophomore Josh Whitley then found some space on the outside to cross the chalk line for UHSP's second try. Iowa State responded with a try of their own before Man-of-the-Tournament Chris Raymond showed his aerial skills with a superb catch off the restart, followed by a quick show and go to run through for a try. In the second half, the Eutectic men found themselves on their own try line and under pressure from Iowa State. But, Hunter Clarke found a defensive hole on the weak side of the scrum and ran the entire length of the field to score in the corner. Chris Raymond took a quick penalty tap to run in for another try to end the game, 27-5, in UHSP's favor.
"This is not where we want to be, and we will not be here again," said Coach Lang "I am hugely proud of how the boys have dealt with the adversity over the last two days. They know and I know what we are building here and that these things are just growing pains. Ultimately, we are out here in the sunshine, in a place we have never been to or dreamt we would go to, experiencing new cultures and meeting other players and teams! You can't put a price on that. It is golden and this is something these guys will remember for the rest of their lives. The fact that, not once, did any of the players talk about quitting or forfeiting a game shows the amount of fortitude in these young men, which will be a powerful weapon for us in the future."
Coach Lang also took time while in Bermuda to talk to some of the local boys about the program and the potential to earn a scholarship to play rugby and study a health-related degree at UHSP. "I am very excited about the future, we have some very interesting prosects coming in next year that will allow us to have a larger and better squad and if I can add some international flair to that, it will enrich the team to no end."
The team ended their adventures with a night off to explore Bermuda and then a recovery session the next morning at one of the world's top beaches, which happened to be just opposite the accommodations, before flying back to St. Louis tired and sore, but full of smiles and great memories. The team had a week off for spring break before getting back to work in preparation for their inaugural home competition, the Prescription 7s, which will take place in Forest Park, Mo., on April 6th.