Rugby Defeats Arkansas, 48-15
JONESBORO — Arkansas State University defeated the University of Arkansas, 48-15, Saturday afternoon in men’s college rugby at the Greater Little Rock Rugby Complex. The win brings the Red Wolves’ record to 2-0 on the early spring schedule.
“It was a sluggish match with too many unforced errors,” said Red Wolf head coach Shaun Potgieter. “The conditions were sloppy from the large amount of rain that Little Rock has experienced lately.”
A-State got on the board first when sophomore Zach Young of Gold Coast, Australia, scored a try. It wasn’t long before Preston Weigel and Noe Pena, both from Houston, Texas, each added points on tries to extend the score to 17-0.
The Razorbacks put up their first points of the game to narrow the gap to 17-7, but Pedro Alvarez scored another try for the Red Wolves. Brock Roper’s second successful conversion of the half allowed A-State to take the lead, 24-7, at the midway point.
Arkansas came right out at the beginning of the second half to help the Razorbacks inch to a 24-12 score. But, A-State’s Julien Moustier had a successful try with Val Balande following up with the conversion to make Arkansas State’s lead, 31-12.
“Arkansas brought a lot of energy and managed to put together numerous phases throughout the match,” added Potgieter. “We finished the game how we always want to be playing, so we need to build on that and use the momentum moving forward into the LSU matchup.”
Andrew Pretorius of Roswell, Ga., raced in for the try to put the Red Wolves’ count at 36-12. Arkansas’s final point total was 15 after a penalty kick. Then, Sam Ross scored the try followed by Alvarez’s second successful try of the game with three minutes remaining. Dylan Boast notched the conversion to give A-State the victory.
Potgieter had high praise for Blace Walser, saying, “He was the standout player of the match. He had a great match on both sides of the ball.”
A-State will take this week off and begin preparing for the Feb. 11 match at LSU in Baton Rouge.
