It was a pleasant break to what would be the end of the Fall season of rugby. The match kicked off on schedule, and SMU came out to make a statement. This SMU team showed more spirit than any of the past SMU sides we have faced and I personally haven't seen that kind of fire from them since my early years at SMU. But I'm no longer part of SMU, my focus in on the UT Dallas Comets.
The Line up:
1. Jonathan, 2. Daniel, 3. Maika, 4. John, 5. Chris, 6. AJ, 7, Elliott, 8. Ben, 9. Michael, 10. Cameron, 11. Graham, 12. Dominic, 13. Luke, 14. Alejandro, 15. Brian
Reserves - Vince in for Graham, Nicky in for Luke, Connor in for Daniel (all beginning of second half), Jake in for Ben with 30 minutes remaining, Alex in for Dominic with 20 minutes remaining.
The match was fierce, SMU came out with the intensity that I described earlier and 5 minutes into the match, they punched UT Dallas RFC in the face by grounding the first Try of the match. The try went unconverted and SMU got the ball back and proceeded to do what got them into scoring position a few minutes prior. UT Dallas had their goal line at their backs and they did exactly what they do best. Keep the opposition out of goal.
About the 15 minute mark, UT Dallas was able gain control of the ball and move down field with controlled ball moves. It was then that Dominic burst through the SMU defense and rumbled roughly35 yards for UT Dallas first Try of the game, Cam made the conversion and UT Dallas took the lead 7 to SMU's 5.
The game was a lot closer than the score showed, but it was UT Dallas that struck again, almost 5 minutes after Dominic's score, Scrumhalf Michael Shamoun picked up the ball from the back of a ruck and darted in and out of SMU defenders to score the second Try of the game. This time Brian took control of the conversion and slotted it between the sticks to take a 14 to 5 lead over SMU.
The second half came and a few changes were made, Vince made his return to Flyhalf, Nicky went in at Outside Center and Connor went in at Hooker. The match was played in this half the same way the first half was played with one exception, SMU scored no more in this half, they played well, but not good enough to stop UT Dallas. In this half Cameron made his trip back into goal with a Try of his own with about 20 minutes remaining in the game, the conversion was missed. Later in the half Vince made his debut on the scoring sheet, he slotted a penalty kick with about 15 minutes remaining. UT Dallas was in control and lead 22 to 5. But it was the UT Dallas forwards to again flex their muscle and first year prop Maika made his first trip into goal and grounded his first Try of his young rugby career and the conversion was missed. The match ended shortly after that, final score UT Dallas 29 - SMU 5.
It's sad to report, but I think the young men being mentioned here have grown up and are ready to accept their responsibility for their own actions. Chris, Conner will be taking some time off from rugby to focus on their classes and when the time is right, return to the rugby pitch and continue their run for whatever lies ahead of them. Kirollos will be taking the spring off to return to military duties, and a member of our club who we haven't seen, but I as well as a few others on this club has been in contact with Nate is taking some personal time off to take care of some personal things. I think that I can speak for the team, in saying we wish these young men all the best and the rugby door will always be open for them if and when they choose to return. They will always be a member of our UT Dallas Rugby family.
On Saturday evening your UT Dallas Women's Rugby Club took on the Texas State Women's Rugby. The match was billed as a good test for our ladies to see what they could do. Texas St. had played a few 15's matches and we thought we might be able to get a full side match against them, but that wasn't to be. Texas St. showed up with 10 players, so 10 a side was agreed upon.
Texas St. has been competing in the division I for the past number of years and they felt that they had graduated so many players that they would drop a couple of levels competitive wise, so they choose to join the Lonestar Conference.
The match kicked off at the scheduled time of 6:30 and the line up was:
1. Gisselle, 2. Lauren, 3. Natch, 4. Vic, 5. Laura, 6. Alyssa, 7. Rachael, 8. Judit, 9. Stephanie, 10 Aime
Reserves: Elyse in for Lauren, Ariel in for Natch, Chandria in for Vic, Alessandria in for Laura, Marie in for Aime
After the kick off, it became the Texas St. show, the lady Comets started out making a tackle or two, then Texas St. found the outside and scored. and scored and scored. The lady Comets couldn't get anything started or if they did couldn't finish, Texas St. was a good side and the many years of experience showed. This was and will be a good example of how we can use this for the future. The ladies played hard and should be rewarded for showing up, there are some members of the club that had legitimate reasons for not attending the game and that is how the game is played.
The final score Texas St. 100. UT Dallas 0
To all, the UT Dallas fall banquet and awards will be Saturday, Dec. 7th from 2 - 4pm, at Sonny Bryan's Bar B Que, the address will be posted on the Web site shortly.