Saint Mary’s Men’s Rugby Looks To The Future
After a heartbreaking semi-final loss to their rivals, the Saint Mary’s men’s rugby team is looking to bounce back.
After only losing one game during the regular season and being ranked as the third best team in the country by the NCAA, Saint Mary’s players couldn’t help but to feel defeated after suffering a loss in the last few minutes of the semi-finals match. The Gaels breezed through the first two rounds of the playoffs, beating Grand Canyon University 76–12 and BYU 71–12. They then had their sights set on the only team that beat them during the regular season, the University of California, Berkeley.
The game was a tough back and forth affair between the two rivals that ended with a last minute try by Cal to secure their place in the finals for the second year in a row. While the loss was heartbreaking for the Gaels, non-graduating players Lorenzo Richardson and Nolan Brophy are already looking forward to next season.
“It’s hard to look forward to next year because you want to be in that championship game,” Brophy said. “Even though we got third, it’s not first, there’s always room to improve and we definitely want and need to improve.”
“The whole year was just a big grind,” Richardson said. “We wanted to bring a championship back home to Saint Mary’s, but at the end of the day things don’t always go your way. It’s a big learning experience for the club and it’s a new opportunity for the younger guys to now step up and try next year.”
Both players were sad to see some of their teammates leave, but were hopeful that the next batch of Gaels will be able to rise to the occasion and fill the void that is left by the graduating players.
“Coach Tim O’Brien a lot of cards in his deck but he lost a lot of cards this year as well,” Richardson said. “We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things, losing guys like Sean Yacoubian and Vili Helu is a big blow but now the younger guys have to step up and fill the holes that they left.”
“We’re losing a lot of talent with the guys who are graduating this year,” Brophy said. “But there’s an expectation to be great and if you don’t do what you need to, you’ll lose your spot on the team. So it’s important that the new guys step up so we can get back to the finals next year.”
The two Gaels agreed that execution is crucial to getting through to the finals next year and emphasized that the off-field training is just important as the work they put in on the field.
“Getting bigger, faster, and stronger is always the key thing,” Richardson said. “Recovery is huge, doing the little things after a big game is super important. Working hard in the weight room, studying film, and eating right are all things that help us get to where we want to be.”
“Execution and finishing are key,” Brophy said. “We have all the talent, we have the coaching, we’ll be in it next year if everything goes right.”
