UGA Rugby continued its win streak with another solid performance against Tennessee Tech, an SCRC D2 team that came in well-coached and fresh off back-to-back wins over Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.  Spirits were high, undoubtedly bolstered by a strong sideline turnout for our Parents/Family event, and the Dawgs imposed their will on the Golden Eagles from the very start.   UGA dominated the match, applying consistent and relentless pressure on both sides of the ball, ending the contest with a 61-19 win.

The match replay can be viewed at our YouTube Channel.  Unfortunately, the video abruptly ends with about 20 minutes remaining in the match – not sure what happened, but we’ll look into it and hopefully prevent it from re-occurring.

Next Up is the UGA/Oklahoma tailgate on Sept 26! Full details here. After that, we’ll face Alabama, one of our key D1AA rivals, in Tuscaloosa, AL on Friday, Oct 9th – kickoff currently targeted for 8pm.  Click HERE for the most up-to-date event details.

The Bulldawgs traveled to Greenwood, SC on Friday, Sept 4 to face the Lander Bearcats for their season opener. The Bearcats recently moved up from D1AA to D1, and have a mix of foreign-born players from top-tier rugby nations, in-state rugby players, and players who are new to the game. It was clear that they were well-trained, as they executed the out-the-back attack so common at the professional level today. But unfortunately for them, that wasn’t enough to defeat the Dawgs.

Simply put, UGA’s strategy and style of play was too much for Lander to handle. While the match got chippy at times, our boys stayed composed and focused on executing our gameplan, and were rewarded with a solid 41-22 victory.

Our forwards man of the match was 8 man, Zach “Spoon” Dabney. In addition to scoring two tries and making many tackles, Spoon created a try with a stellar counter ruck that won us possession and resulted in an immediate try. The backs man of the match was Nico Marchini, who was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, scoring a try AND taking it upon himself to defend the Bearcats’ strongest attacker.

Huge kudos also go to our B-side, who closed out the evening with a 13-0 shutout victory in an abbreviated 3rd period. B-side Man of the Match Munil Vaishnav and newcomer George “Gus” Zerzsenyi both scored tries, and Joey McLane flexed his skills by casually slotting a drop goal off of a Lander goal-line dropout.

The match replay is available on our YouTube Channel. Note: the lights at Lander weren’t great, so it starts getting a bit dark at the end of the A-side match.

NEXT MATCH: The Dawgs get a well-earned week off before playing host to Tennessee Tech on Sept 19th. This clash doubles as Parents/Family weekend, featuring a post-match cookout over at the Lake Herrick pavilion for parents, family members, and significant others. We fully plan on extending our winning streak and want to pack the sidelines for this home fixture — hope to see everyone there making noise!

Match Photographer: Onyx Mills

UGA Rugby kicked off our competitive season this past weekend with a huge win over South Carolina’s B-side!  We should point out, the Gamecocks B-side are nothing to sneeze at – with several recruits from perennial powerhouse Xavier High School (New York City), this side has as much athletic talent and experience as many of our prior A-side teams.

Our boys came out strong, striking first blood within the first few minutes, when Captain Mike Sample executed a beautiful kick into the try zone which our back line dotted down.  From that point, Georgia kept their foot on the gas and never relinquished the lead.  South Carolina fought hard, and had some moments where they threatened to steal back the momentum – but they simply couldn’t handle the Dawgs, who kept their wits, stayed strong on defense, and implemented the gameplan.  At the final whistle, the score told the story of the day: 38-17, UGA over South Carolina B.

The coaches are super proud of our boys for showing heart and playing within the system.  We had so many fantastic performances and contenders for Man of the Match, but we ultimately decided on the following: For the backs – Man of the Match went to captain and flyhalf Mike Sample, for his execution and command of the game.  Honorable mention to newcomer and inside center Nico Marchini, who showed out in his first UGA match with 2 tries.   For the forwards, Man of the Match went to flanker Luke Pankey, who tackled everything that moved and forced multiple tacklers to handle him on every carry. Honorable mention went to our big man, tighthead prop Matt Haberman, who stole multiple lineouts and carried for 50+ meters.

Our B-side fought bravely, but the difference in athleticism and experience was clear, and we were simply outmatched.  However, we got everybody much-needed playing time, and had a few new guys show us some amazing potential, including first-year Rafael Saitowitz (our B-side man of the match), as well as Big Mike Hardie and Eliot Goggans.

There were multiple reasons to celebrate off the pitch as well.  A strong turnout on the sidelines, including a good number of parents and families, as well as various club supporters.  For the first time in a while, we actually had a post-match social with BOTH teams!   And last but not least, we LIVE-STREAMED the match on the UGA Rugby YouTube channel! 

HATS OFF to the Gamecocks for a good match, and for joining us at Little Italy at the post-match social, where they showed a lot of class. THANK YOU to all the friends, family, and other supporters who cheered us on, whether in person or watching the livestream. Your support means a lot, and we want you along for the ride all season!

UP NEXT: UGA @ Lander. On Sept 4, the boys will travel to Greenwood, SC to face the Lander Bearcats, a high-quality side who recently moved up to D1, and have been working hard on building up their program.  UGA and Lander have traded wins in recent history, so this will be competitive, but we’re looking to carry this past weekend’s momentum straight into that match. 

Match Photographer: Onyx Mills