By Ashley Graf
Claiming the Wasatch Cup for the second year in a row, the No. 4 BYU men”s rugby team defeated No. 5 Utah 21-20 in their closest game of the season on Saturday.
“We knew this game was going to be close,” BYU coach Dave Smyth said. “It”s hard to really prepare for a game like this. You just have to hold on and hope for the best, and we were fortunate to have come away with the win.”
The Cougars came out strong, scoring within the first minute of the game and limiting the Utes to just kicks in the first half, dominating the halftime score 21-6.
But Utah came back fighting in the second half, and managed the seemingly impossible task of shutting out the Cougars for the remainder of the game.
“We take each team as they come, especially in the Wasatch Cup when stakes are high,” junior wing Grant Barnes said. “We know we can play better, and we will, but overall we got the win.”
The disappointing second half for BYU will focus the team the rest of the season, helping them improve so they will be ready for whatever lies ahead.
“It won”t be hard to keep them focused because they have a bad taste in their mouth now after the way they finished the game,” Smyth said. “We”ll use that as a momentum moving forward to get them front and center.”
With a bye to the quarterfinals in the Pacific Coast Tournament on the line, Barnes said the team is grateful for the win.
For the first time ever at the Wasatch Cup, the two teams sat together for a meal and presentation of the cup after the game.
“It was nice to sit down with Utah after the game because it showed there is a lot of respect for each other,” Barnes said. “We may hate each other on the field, but we are all good sportsmen.”
BYU tangibly showed their sportsmanship by donating $1,000 to Utah to help with their travel expenses for the tournament.
The Cougars look to the rest of their season to prepare them for the Pacific Coast Tournament.
Testing the men next will be Colorado University this weekend when the Buffalos visit Provo.
