November 2, 2026November 2, 2026 by Larry Doong

Dawgs Fall to Auburn

This past weekend, the Dawgs traveled to Auburn, AL for a Friday night conference matchup against the Auburn Tigers, seeking to continue our winning streak against a fellow D1AA Tier 2 rival. Despite missing 5 of our normal A-side roster members, the traveling squad played with a TON of heart and determination. Unfortunately, a few critical mistakes were too much to overcome before the final whistle blew, and Auburn secured a 40-24 win.

Men of the match went to hooker Elliott Meyer and center Ian Heyns, both of whom were also praised as “true dawgs” by Auburn’s head coach Dale Hartmann. Hats off to Auburn for playing an incredibly tough match. In addition to capitalizing on a few critical mistakes, they showed impressive grit, holding off the Dawgs during multiple goal-line defensive stands.

The replay can be found on Auburn’s YouTube channel.

NEXT UP> on Saturday, Nov 7, the Dawgs will travel to Clemson, SC to face the Clemson Tigers, a perennial top-20 team. The match will be livestreamed on Clemson’s YouTube channel, with live commentary by the team from Just Ruckin’ With U. Match details can be found on the event page.

October 25, 2026October 28, 2026 by Larry Doong

Dawgs continue their winning streak!

Despite being a bit rusty after 5 weeks without a match, UGA Rugby continued its winning ways this weekend!

UGA A-side vs Tennessee B/C: The Dawgs showed up ready to play and came out the gate strong, scoring 2 tries within the first 10 minutes. Generally speaking, they played to their gameplan, had solid set piece, and moved the ball well. The first half found them up 19-5, and the finishers did a great job of continuing to execute against a very athletic and well-trained team, preserving the margin until the final whistle blew with the score being UGA 24, Tennessee 10.

A-side men of the match were center Nico Marchini who scored a remarkable 4 tries, and flanker Colin Spencer who excelled at the critical but often overlooked work of tackling, rucking, and carrying the ball strong into contact.

Huge thanks to SCRC Commissioner Steve Harris and Tennessee head coach Scott Tungay for coordinating this match while Tennessee sent their A-side to LSU. The fact that a mixture of their B and C sides played us this well shows the strength and depth of their program!

UGA B-side vs. KSU: UGA’s B-side played a valiant game, showing lots of potential as they put up 6 tries against a KSU team who were somewhat light on numbers, but had plenty of heart. Despite losing a few players to injury throughout the game, the KSU players kept their heads up and played hard until the final whistle. Final score, UGA B-side 27, KSU 22.

B-side men of the match were flanker Walker Hicks who impressed with dominant tackles and big runs, and flyhalf Tomi Romano who diced up the defense for 3 tries.

Video of both matches is available on our YouTube channel.

NEXT UP: The Bulldogs will travel to face Auburn this Friday Oct 30th, with kickoff set for 6pm Central/7pm Eastern. Unfortunately, this will be A-side only, as Auburn lacks the numbers for a B-side match. But our friends at GCSU (coached by UGA Rugby alumni Robbie Andrews) have agreed to host our B-side on Friday, Nov 13th, with kickoff scheduled for 6pm. Details for both matches can be found in the Schedule – thanks in advance for your support!

October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 by Larry Doong

Oct 24 UPDATE

On Oct 24th, UGA Rugby A-side will now face Tennessee B-side, and UGA B side will play KSU. This change was made in collaboration with the other teams, to accommodate the competitive and developmental needs of all the programs involved.

Please visit the event detail page for the latest updates and information – look forward to seeing everybody!

October 9, 2026October 9, 2026 by admin

UPDATE: UGA @ Bama match OFF

Due to the situation with Hurricane Isaias, UGA Rugby’s officers have made the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s trip to Tuscaloosa. We were very much hoping to play this match, but has Isaias gained strength on Thursday night, the club felt the need to prioritize our players’ safety and seek to reschedule this match.

Updates will be posted as they are available. Please stay safe everyone!

September 20, 2026September 23, 2026 by Larry Doong

Dawgs Beat Tennessee Tech, celebrate with families

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. Afterwards, the team had a wonderful potluck meal where the club’s families – players and coaches alike – shared food and each others’ company.

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: the big 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.

September 13, 2026September 23, 2026 by Larry Doong

UGA Rugby Helps the Athens Community

On Sunday, Sept 13, the Dawgs did their part for the local community by volunteering at one of Athens’ most beloved local attractions, Bear Hollow Zoo. Run by the local county government, Bear Hollow is FREE to all visitors, and relies on the generosity of local donors and volunteers to keep it running.

The UGARFC assisted Bear Hollow Zoo by repainting the bear cages and sleeping areas, removing excess vines along the fencing, and assisting with general maintenance revolving around the Bear exhibit. UGA Rugby is proud to continue to serve their community. 🐻❤️

September 6, 2026September 23, 2026 by Larry Doong

Dawgs Win at Lander

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

September 1, 2026September 23, 2026 by Larry Doong

Dawgs Win over South Carolina B

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