The Aggies entered the post-spring break weekend with a 3-0 ARC record after gaining a big win in Austin over UT (44-17) the previous week. A&M needed a victory against Texas Tech to match league leading University of Oklahoma in points, so this match was crucial to the Aggies championship aspirations. The Aggies knew that the Raiders had a talented and physically tough squad and were looking forward to a very competitive match.
Texas Tech has done a fantastic job with recruiting high school rugby talent (they managed to get nine players from last year's Woodlands championship team) from across Texas. They possess a great deal of skill and talent in their backline and one of the largest packs in the ARC. Coach Murtchinson has done a wonderful job of molding the group into a solid defensive unit, along with a dangerous offensive - capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. The Aggies prepared throughout the week to face these challenges and felt they had a good tactical plan to deal with the Tech threats.
The Aggies attacked from the opening kickoff and quickly marched down field with flyhalf Conor Mills hitting the inside channel repeatedly. After multiple phases off a scrum (including a big run by center J.D. Smiley), lock John Deao smashed over for an early try (2:15). Mills slotted the conversion and the Aggies jumped in front 7-0. The pace evened for a time until Tech was penalized for not rolling away giving Mills a shot at goal. He hit the 28 meter penalty kick (8:30) for a 10-0 lead. The Aggies managed to score again when they got a beautiful counter-ruck from Diaz and De la Garza. De la Garza scooped up the ball and hit lock Philip Hanson with the pass for a score (16:40). At this point it looked as if the Aggies were going to run away with the match, but the Raiders had a different plan.
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| Mills hitting a first half drop goal against Tech |
Texas A&M knocked on the ensuing restart giving possession to Tech inside the Aggie 22 m. After a couple of Aggie penalties, Tech's inside center managed to find a mismatch on the edge and run over for a score (20:45), putting the Raiders back in the game, 15-5. The home team recovered quickly with a score of their own. Tech kicked away possession with a deep ball to fullback Dylan Starks who mounted a very effective counterattack. Starks managed to dodge a number of Tech defenders with elusive running before being tackled. The Aggies got fast recycle on the ball and Mills hit a streaking Lukas Jacobson who then offloaded back to Starks. Starks pushed toward the goal line before hitting a supporting Mills. Mills was hit by three defenders but managed to dot the ball down for the score (27:30). This was an awesome display of ball movement and support by the Aggie backs.
The Aggies got another try before the half when Mills hit an up-and-under that was mishandled by Tech's winger Sule. TAMU took the scrum and Mills hit a hard-running Smiley who then dashed in from 25 meters out (32:37). Mills finished the Aggie's scoring when he hit a long drop-goal as the ref prepared to blow the halftime whistle - 28-5.
The second half started with more of the same from the Aggies. After winning the restart and running multiple phases, Tech committed a penalty. Mills kicked to the corner and Chris Frazier pulled down the lineout ball before the TAMU forwards mauled the ball over, with #8 Alex Demblon getting his first try of the season (43:26). The humidity then took over the match for some time, with both teams looking sluggish and committing numerous errors. However, at the fifty-six minute mark it look as if the Aggies had pushed over a score, but Francisco Brito was called for a double-movement. After kicking to touch, the Raiders won their lineout and managed to get a long break from their centers. The Aggies got caught in a mismatch in the ensuing scramble and Tech's fullback ran in untouched for the try (56:34), making the score 33-10.
Mills would add another penalty kick (63:35) and Guillen finished the Aggie scoring after taking a pass from Jacobson, who had made a long run, for the final try for Texas A&M (69:27). Tech finished the day with a an intercept try a dead-time, making the final score 43-17.
This was a great and important win for the Aggies coming off of spring break and put the ARC front-runners at 4-0 in conference play. The Men of the Match were Armando De la Garza (forwards) and Conor Mills (backs). The Aggies face the University of Oklahoma next in a crucial away match to end their ARC regular season.
