Gaels Win Over Cougars
In what was The Rugby Network’s Game of The Week, Saint Mary’s College took on BYU in Saint Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, March 4th. The Gaels looked to extend their run of good form from the previous two weeks with a win over the Cougars.
Saint Mary’s opened the scoring thanks to a penalty kick that was converted by Joseph Yacoubian giving the Gaels a 3–0 lead roughly ten minutes into the game. For a large portion of the first half either side pounded away at the opposing defense trying to exploit any weakness but thanks to a penalty error from BYU, the Gaels were given a perfect opportunity to extend their lead through another penalty kick, which was converted by Joseph Yacoubian making it 6-0 in favor of Saint Mary’s.
Cathal Coackley retrieves the ball from a line out with his eyes on Joseph Marchant to pass the ball
Immediately after going 6-0 down, BYU attempted to get their name on the board. Phase after phase a strong Saint Mary’s defense repelled BYU and cleared the ball, relieving whatever momentum BYU may have built. With only ten minutes left to play in the first half, BYU finally broke through scoring their first try, followed by another shortly before halftime. At the end of the first half, BYU flipped the score line and was leading 6-12.
The Gaels came out of halftime firing and restored their lead after BYU shanked a kick, then conceded a penalty to allow the Gaels to kick the ball into the corner for a lineout. After attempting to maul the ball over the try line, Inoke Waqavesi pulled the ball and passed it to Dominic Besag. Besag running downhill wouldn’t be denied powering over defenders before stretching out for Saint Mary’s first try of the day. Joseph Yacoubian made the conversion, giving the Gaels a 13-12 lead.
Saint Mary’s next attack came from another BYU penalty, which allowed them to set up a lineout just inside of the 22-meter line, where they gained another penalty through the maul for yet another lineout. This time the SMC maul was denied as they powered their way over allowing the hooker, Joshua Allan dotted down a try. Joseph Yacoubian converted this attempt as well, as we saw a quick shift in favor of the Gaels 20-12. BYU attempted to claw their way back into the game but to no avail. They scored a penalty kick to bring it within one score but Joseph Yacoubian scored one of his own to keep BYU just out of reach. The Gaels ended up with a positive result with a final score of 23-18 Saint Mary’s.
Ronnie McElligott fighting for yards against BYU
The Gaels face the UC Berkeley Bears in the final regular season home match on Saturday, March 25. Entry for SMC students, faculty, and staff is free. A side starts at 1 p.m. and B Side starts at 3 p.m.