After putting up good performances against the men’s and women’s teams from Kenyon at the home double header on April 14, Oberlin’s rugby teams got back into action this past Saturday, April 21. The Rhinos traveled to the Wittenberg “Mud Pig” invitational, while the men hosted the Bowling Green D team.

Both teams looked to keep making progress. The women were working to extend their winning streak as the men worked toward a first victory. Conditions were ideal for the contest as the sun came out and both teams readied themselves to play some good rugby.

Still struggling to keep their numbers up due to injuries, the Billy Goats went up against a well-represented team from Bowling Green College. Bowling Green took the lead early on in the game, scoring a bunch of tries and conversion kicks.

But the Goats did not put their heads down as they responded by scoring a couple of tries and preventing their opponents from making any meaningful plays. The contest was intense, and each team gave the other a run for its money.

Unfortunately, the game was brought to a premature end after three periods (instead of four) as a result of rising tension levels and an insufficient number of players on the Oberlin side. Oberlin lost the game 41-12, scoring two tries.

Coach Paul Kukuca felt that his boys had put up a good performance, stating that Bowling Green had defeated Oberlin in “football but not in rugby.”

Senior Michael Rose seconded this statement remarking, “The team from Bowling Green State beat us but it wasn’t necessarily because they played better rugby. They had a stronger group of players.”

“The team did well,” Rose continued. “We scored two important tries and we were able to play against the more experienced Bowling Green State side and not get run over.”

While the men were slugging things out with Bowling Green, the Rhinos played at the Wittenberg University “Mud Pig” invitational along with teams from Wright State University, Kenyon College and hosts Wittenberg.

The invitational was a four-game tournament in which each team was able to play a couple of games.

Oberlin faced Wright State University in their first game while Kenyon went up against hosts Wittenberg. The Rhinos played hard in their first game, but were outplayed by the women from Wright State in a disappointing first game. Wittenberg University spanked Kenyon 67-0 in the other game, setting up their second game against Wright State while Oberlin went on to play Kenyon.

In their second game, the Oberlin team took no prisoners and claimed their third victory over Kenyon College this year. The Wittenberg team came out on top on the day with a convincing 20-5 victory over the women from Wright State.

The two rugby teams travel to Ashland, Ohio this Saturday to compete in a doubleheader against the teams at Ashland University.