The Texas A&M men’s rugby Maroon side executed a decisive 34-5 win over the University of Oklahoma in the first home game of the season at Penberthy Rec Sports Complex on Oct. 14.
The Old Maroon side is now 3-0. Having played and won against OU last season, the team strategy before the match was to have the discipline to follow the plan, including scoring first, sport management sophomore Conner Cantrell.
Cantrell executed with the first try in the first 10 minutes of play, followed by a missed conversion by mechanical engineering sophomore Andres Lasala.
Scoring first was key, Grey side head coach Brett Mills said.
“Once you score first, it makes a huge difference,” Mills said. “If we can score first, we can set the tone.”
Oklahoma struggled to advance the ball forward multiple times as the defense kept up with tackles and played physically.
Sport management sophomore Joey Garcia confirmed the team was able to drive OU from the ball.
“The opposing team did not tackle very hard; they could have done better,” Garcia said.
The Maroon and White scored on another try thanks to university studies junior Eric Hawkins, followed by a conversion kick from Lasala. They ended the half with another try from sociology senior Abbas Bangash.
“We’re really physical, and we like to hit people,” engineering sophomore Dylan Dominey said. “We are close, and we are real brothers. It is not just we are here at practice, we’re here hanging out outside of training.”
Old Maroon was ahead by 22 points by halftime. OU tried to come back in the second half, scoring seven points, but the Aggies shut them down by adding 10 points to the score.
“We have a strong side and a strong program here at A&M, and I knew that we could get a good result if we stuck to what we are good at,” head coach Luke Beauchamp said.
The Maroon side is set to play a home game against Old Maroon in the annual alumni game on Oct. 21 at 12 p.m. at Penberthy.
Follow A&M rugby @AggieRugbyFC on Instagram or visit AggieRugby.com.
Shalina Sabih is a journalism junior and contributed this article from JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.