PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Due to the rain, the field at Founders was unplayed and the Franciscan rugby match against Robert Morris for the Three Rivers Rugby Conference title had to be moved to the campus of RMU. After battling through rainy and cold conditions, the Barons fell to the Colonials 19-0 Saturday evening.
Robert Morris got the scoring underway with a try and good conversion in the first 10 minutes of action but the Baron defense was able to keep the Colonials at bay for the rest of the half. RMU carried the 7-0 lead into halftime and the score remained the same for most of the second. The Colonials scored two more trys in the final 20 minutes, including one with five minutes to play to capture the 19-0 victory.
"We simply couldn't hang on to the ball tonight. Constant dropped balls and knock ons in both open play and set pieces. We got into our own heads and started playing with a lot of anxiety and tried to rush everything," remarked head coach
Dan Kramer following the match. "Another issue was that we chose to play inside of our 22 too much. Everytime we got the ball, there was a fear of kicking it away. Playing inside of your 22 is high pressure because one mistake and RMU gets the ball in prime position to score."
After
Josh Leatherby went down early in the first half,
Luke Hall, a planned second-half sub, rose to the occasion and played admirably in Leatherby's place. Once Leatherby went down, it amplified the void of two other injured forwards, Zach Barnes and
Jacob Borden.
Mid way through the second half the Barons also lost our fly half,
Rafe Lewis, to an injury. Again, the Barons had to scramble the lineup to adjust for his absence.
"I'm proud of my guys and the season they played. Not only did we develop on the pitch, but they also grew as men of virtue off the pitch," remarked Coach Kramer. "They became close as a team and pushed each other and encouraged each other physically, mentally, and spiritually throughout the past three months. We had high hopes from day one and it is disappointing to fall short of our goals. However, RMU was the better rugby team tonight and they deserve to go on and represent our conference at Regionals."
The team will travel to Chicago next week to watch Ireland play Italy at Soldier Field. As part of the trip, the Barons will play the Chicago Griffins C side on Friday night, November. 2. That trip will officially conclude the fall season. The Barons have several players who will take the spring season off and study abroad in Austria. For those who are returning in the spring, the Barons have an exciting spring lined up with several 7s tournaments and the Frassati tournament at Ave Maria University, March 22-24.
"I look forward to watching this team continue to improve and see new leaders emerge from the underclassmen."
