The No. 1 Texas A&M Men’s Maroon Side rugby team shut out the University of Texas at Austin 34-0 in College Station on Saturday, Feb. 18.
The win continued the Maroon Side’s undefeated season to a 4-0 record. Although the Aggies defeated the opponent, coach James Lowrey said the team played well below their normal standards. Coming off of three big wins on the season, player ego seemed to be the issue, Lowrey added. It still felt good to get this win over rival UT, no matter the score, senior Co-Captain Ryan McCauley said.
The Aggies were leading UT 10-0 at halftime. They picked up the pace in the second half, adding 24 more points to the board.
“We were able to take a deep breath and think about what we did not do correctly,” Lowrey said. “We were motivated enough to make it better, and the new energy was exactly what we needed.”
The team continues to develop and grow with each game, said mechanical engineering junior and Co-Captain William Hofstetter.
“This game was definitely more of a challenge, which is good. It is what we need,” Hofstetter said. “It was good to have some competition.”
As a rivalry game, this one was especially important, Hofstetter said.
“It is the best,” Hofstetter said. ”You always want to beat t.u. You always want to beat Texas.”
The forwards — or “big guys” — were a big factor in the win, McCauley said.
“They were able to win us a lot of the contested balls, and they played great on defense,” McCauley said.
Having so many people come out to the game definitely helped, McCauley said about the full spectator stands.
“It felt good having all these people out here.” McCauley said.
The Aggies will play Baylor University on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Waco. More information can be found on the team’s website at AggieRugby.com or on Instagram @AggieRugbyFC.
Josh Hoermann is a sophomore recreation, park and tourism sciences major, and contributed this piece from the course JOUR359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.