Aggies Take Out UT in Austin

The Aggie v. Longhorn rugby match is always a fiercely contested affair, but it has been some time since it actually had some meaning in regard to conference standings.  This year's matchup boasted two teams with 2-0 Allied Rugby Conference records and a great deal on the line in terms of championship implications.  The match was played in Austin, giving the Longhorns a homefield advantage, which they made the most of.  UT had a great crowd for game which added to the excitement, providing a true "Friday Night Lights" atmosphere to the event.

The game was played after a womens' match featuring UT and Texas State University.  The weather was cool with a stiff breeze which had a impact on the kicking throughout the game.  Veteran and well-respected referee Scott Green was the official for the match.

Initially the match featured a great deal of defense with very little in the way of offense.  The Aggies were penalized repeatedly at the breakdown and the Longhorns spent a great deal of time inside the Aggie half.  Aggie handling mistakes also added to their woes.  However, at around the nine minute the Aggies began to take control.  After a period of sustained pressure fullback Dylan Starks went over for the first of his two tries (8:45).  After a period of more interchange and constant shifting of field position, the Aggies scored again off a Phil Hanson try (16:40).  The Longhorns had been awarded a 5 meter scrum after an Aggie knockon, but a poor pass by Texas led to a mishandle and Hanson fell on the ball.  For Hanson, this was his sixth try of the year and puts him among the leading try scorers in the ARC.

The game settled into a give and take affair for the next ten minutes.  Both sides were playing hard-hitting defense which resulted in a number of knock-ons.  After a long J.D. Smiley run, the Aggies managed to push out of their own end.  An ensuing lineout was won by TAMU and the Aggies put together a strong maul which ended with Andres Diaz punching over for a score (25:10) giving A&M a 19-0 lead.  The Aggies went on the board again after the Aggies stole the ball against the head at UT's 45 meter line.  Theodore worked the ball wide to Mills, who passed to Jacobson, who offloaded to Matt Krath for the score (34:13).  Krath delivered a nice stiff arm to a Longhorn before rolling over for the try.   The final score of the half came after Mills had made a long run into Longhorn territory.  After a couple of phases, the Ags were awarded a scrum.  Theodore took the ball off the base and cut off the edge before scampering untouched for the score (42:30).  The score at halftime saw the Aggies in front 29-0.

Matt Krath scores a try against UT

The Aggies kept up the pace early in the second half when John Deao scored seven minutes into the half.  After multiple phases the Aggies worked deep into Longhorn territory.  TAMU received a penalty and Theodore took a quick tap before offloading to the ever-present Mando De la Garza.  Garza pushed to the goal line, but could not get in.  After a number of pick-and-goes, John Deao dove over for a try (49:39).  The Aggies retained the ball after the restart and after a UT penalty Mills hit a 40 meter penalty kick from the far left side (54:15) to push the Aggie lead to 39-0.

Texas finally got on the board after a series of Aggie penalties.  The Longhorn #8 Cotton took a quick tap and UT managed to to maul him over for a try (61:19).  The Aggies scored their final try of the match after Chris Frazier delivered a vicious hit to a UT back causing the ball to spill forward.  Theodore quickly transfered the ball to Dylan Starks who made a beautiful run through the Longhorn defense.  Starks offloaded to Guillen who appeared to be heading for a try when he was tackled.  He made a fantastic pop-pass back to Starks who dove over for the try (70:45).  This try was a wonderful display of teamwork and ball-handling skills.  The Aggies now held a 44-7 led with ten minutes remaining.

All credit to Texas as they did not give up.  They would come back and score two tries (75:14 and 78:50) in the final minutes.  Penalties, poor tackling, and fatigue all figured into the Longhorn scores.  However, this effort was way too little and too late.  The Aggies came away from the capital city with a convincing 44-17 win and went to 3-0 in conference play.  The Men of the Match were Chris Frazier (forwards) and Matt Theodore (backs).  Frazier had some devastating hits throughout the game and Theodore did a masterful job of running the forwards throughout the match.

The Aggies next opponent is the Texas Tech Red Raiders who travel to College Station for an exciting matchup on March 23.