Red Wolf rugby to face Brigham Young in USA Rugby D1A National Championship May 19
Arkansas State University’s Red Wolves rugby team is primed and ready to make the long trip to Sandy, Utah, this weekend to play top-ranked Brigham Young University to decide the national championship winner.
The two schools are set to meet in the USA Rugby Men’s D1A College Rugby National Championship at Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday, May 19. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. MDT. Tickets are $17 and are available online at www.riotintostadium.com.
“We’ve been on the road for a while, but we’ll be rested and ready to go,” said ASU Coach Matt Huckaby who is finishing his second season. “The guys are excited and ready. We should be clicking on all cylinders.”
Arkansas State, 8-2 and ranked third, will be competing for its first-ever rugby national championship. However, the two universities met previously in last year’s final four with BYU coming way with the 36-15 win during a cold and rainy night in Glendale, Colo. BYU enters play Saturday with a 9-0 mark for 2012.
“There’s not a lot of difference in BYU’s team from last year to this year,” continued Huckaby. “They lost two All-Americans from the 2011 team, but they still have a great team. But, we are playing good defense right now.”
The Red Wolves earned their way into the finals by defeating St. Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., 31-17, May 12. In 2011, BYU fell, 21-14, to California in the title game and will be looking to bring home another championship. BYU last won a national title in 2009 when they beat Cal 25-22.
Arkansas State will have some tough weapons including elite scorer Paul Benade and All-American Pat Sullivan. BYU will counter with team captain Ryan Roundy, also an All-America selection at forward, and center Paul Lasike.
The championship matchup will be shown live on ESPN3 and on tape delay on ESPNU and ESPN International. Tape delay broadcast times are yet to be confirmed.
# # #
