Aggies Fall to LSU in 2013 Season Opener

The Aggies lost 31-19 to LSU in the season opener on Saturday.  The results were very disappointing for the Aggies as they were not representative of the hard-work and dedication put forth so far this season.  LSU played a great game and were physical at the breakdown and the tackle throughout the match.  The Tigers were very deserving of the victory.

 

It was the "perfect storm" for the Aggies.  The Ags played their worst rugby of the last two seasons, looking lethargic throughout the match, were missing players, and were opening with a traditional rival.  Texas A&M was missing four starters (Chris Frazier, Andrew Stanley, Matt Theodore, and Jan Young) on Saturday. 

 

The Aggies played poor defense and missed a large number of tackles throughout the match.  However, it was poor execution in the lineout that proved to be catastrophic for A&M.  Missing the top two jumpers, Frazier and Stanley, the lineout went haywire and the Aggies won very little of their own ball on the day.  This changed the tempo and tactics of the game, allowing LSU to play on the front front throughout the afternoon.  The Aggies were also plagued by a rash of dropped balls and poor passes, which halted any momentum gained usually before it really got started.  There were also two clear 3 v. 1 breakaways that were sure tries that were poorly executed and went for naught.  LSU played hard defense and was solid at the breakdown which contributed to TAMU's issues.

 

Mondo De la Garza makes a linebreak

While the Aggies need to learn to deal with missing starters better, it was a huge blow to have Frazier and Stanley out to the lineup.  Frazier is one the most dominating lineout jumpers in the country and leads the defense with his hard-tackling.  Theodore and Young are both recovering from shoulder injuries and no timeline has been set for eithers return, but their lack of presence was felt as well on Saturday.

 

It appeared that the Aggies forgot that LSU was one of its oldest rivals, something their opponent had not.  LSU was mentally prepared for Saturday and played with an intensity that was missing from the Aggies.  This is an item that will be dealt with this week in practice as the quality of rivals over the next two weeks (Arkansas State and BYU) only gets tougher. 

 

Despite the dark clouds that hang like a pall after a loss, there were some bright moments in the match.  Wing Matt Saladino scored two tries off of long runs and prop Mondo De la Garza was amazing throughout the day.  De la Garza demonstrated his usual brand of physically punishing rugby and made numerous tackles and runs that were important at key points in the match.  Saladino was named Man of the Match for the backs and De la Garza Man of the Match for the forwards.

 

Also, the Aggies did not quit and scored right at the end of the match.  Actually, had the Aggies played the whole match like they did the last 15 minutes, they would have come out on top.  Hopefully a valuable lesson learned.  Both players and staff will be hard at work this week attempting to fix all that went wrong on Saturday.  In the end, this was the first match and not the last, so the Aggies have time to make some major improvements before conference play - and they will!