NMT Ruggers Drop Autumn Finale

The New Mexico Tech Rugby Club spent most of their allotted 80 minutes on Saturday, Nov. 1 clawing for a brief lead but were disappointed in the end as upriver rivals Albuquerque Brujos Rugby Club took a 50-32 victory. The loss pegs Tech’s record at 8 wins against 7 losses at the conclusion of the fall campaign.

The collegians had beaten the men’s club side 46-24 in Socorro on September 13. The two clubs met Saturday at the Santa Ana Pueblo athletic complex during a midday hiatus in the Western Rugby Union collegiate all-star tournament, in which five of Tech’s most accomplished players were in the process of distinguishing themselves (see related story below).

The match was characterized by intense play, yet was conducted in good spirit as is customary between these two loyal oppponents. As customary this season, Tech exhibited a dangerous game marked by long scoring runs, yet were guilty at crucial times of poor tackling and tactical mistakes in defense. For their part the Brujos had beefed up their backline since the September match and showed more aggressive play throughout the team.

The Albuquerque side got their first five-point try after just five minutes by disrupting a scrum awarded to Tech. The conversion kick failed. At nine minutes NMT put up three points on a penalty kick by center Pat Simons. Fifteen minutes in Brujos struck for their second try when 230-pound center Kyle Wuttnaught broke several weak tackles on his way to the line. Seven minutes later Tech brought the score to 10-8, Brujos, through a powerful 60-yard run by one of their all-star players, center Patrick Simons. At 30 minutes the Brujos were awarded a penalty for offsides, and the ball was passed long to the wing for an easy try as the students were slow to regroup. Simons was unsuccessful on a penalty kick attempt as the first half ended with the Brujos in front 15-8.

Just one minute into the second half the Brujos were handed another gift try as the Pygmies over-committed to defending the right side, allowing Tech graduate Jason Lennane to waltz into the left corner untouched. With the conversion the Brujos’ lead swelled to 22-8, and Tech’s prospects began to look even slimmer as their leading try-scorer and goal-kicker Pat Simons was forced off by abdominal cramps.

Some heads-up play by scrum half Paul Quintana breathed new life into the Pygmies, however, as he dove across the line at a short-range penalty situation. Freshman Seth Daly, who missed most of the season due to a late summer rock-climbing accident, marked his first run at the flyhalf position by registering the two-point conversion. Six minutes later flanker Matt Majors brought Tech within two at 22-20 as he showed his speed in outdistancing the Brujos’ cover defense over 50 yards.

The Albuquerque team replied with their own converted try shortly after, but Quintana scored again to keep the Brujos within reach at 29-25 as the match entered its final quarter.

Tech finally gained the lead at 79 minutes as Matt Nelson, a late-season recruit, showed his potential with his second high-speed run to glory in as many weeks. Daly added the conversion to make it 32-29, Tech. But an ill omen fell over Tech as workhorse flank forward Phillip Turner came off after an accidental collision with teammate T.J. Evans, leaving a hole in Tech’s defensive capabilities.

And indeed shortly afterwards the wheels fell off the Tech wagon, as the Brujos tacked up three converted tries in the last ten minutes for the 50-32 margin of victory. Matt Odle, Christian de Bedoya, and Joe Roebuck cashed in on their team’s inspired play to distort the final score in what had been a close game.