New Mexico Tech almost didn’t make it to the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), which took place in Boyd, Maryland between April 25^th and 27^th. Their participation in the High Peaks qualifying tournament earlier in the month ended in a defeat against Denver University in the finals. But, perhaps in recognition of the haphazardness of the qualification process, National Collegiate Rugby designated a number of “at large” qualification spots for teams that demonstrated a history of success but didn’t place first at a spring sevens tournament. New Mexico Tech’s near-perfect playing record was enough to book a ticket to Maryland (along with thousands in generous donations from the Ancestors and others).

The CRC was always going to be a bit of a wakeup call. Denver University was the only side to really challenge the Techies this spring. All of the other opposition exists a day’s drive into Texas or plays for the “wrong” organizing body (i.e., the Arizona clubs). The men’s rugby team have had the difficult job of being their own competition.

Fortunately, Tech proved in their first match that they deserved to be there. They managed an ugly but spirited 10-5 victory over the Virginia Military Institute, holding on to a slim advantage despite earning themselves two yellow cards in the process. That match, unfortunately, set the tone for the rest of the rugby men’s games. They fell much too frequently on the wrong side of the referee’s whistle and tried to play an aggressive, bullying style of sevens rugby. They looked like a 15 sides trying to grind out wins in a 7-man game.

The trouble was that the next three opponents were more than happy to take it and dish out even more. Each match felt like it spiraled into an arms’ race of aggression. The Techies responded to each new adversity by working even harder, though not always smarter, frequently treating the slightest defensive gap as a cue to put their head down and crash into the line. The young men too often made their bodies do the work of gaining meters rather than let the ball do it for them, a failing that probably all of us have made.

The next match up was against Slippery Rock University—last year’s champions. The Pennsylvanians put up five tries in response to Tech’s solitary score from Bishop Ortega. As the case often is in sevens, the Techies simply didn’t have much possession and eventually a missed tackle or similar error resulted in a try, while playing so much defense left little gas in the tank when eventually did find themselves with possession. The ensuing game against John Carroll University in the consolation “Plate” bracket seems to have been a similar story, but the live feed wasn’t working. So, who knows?

The seventh place playoff against fellow Western Division rivals Cal Poly Humboldt brought the team back to where they started: a bruising, low-scoring, and highly penalized encounter. But this time NMT found themselves on the losing end of a 10-5 score line, ending the tournament 8^th out of 16 teams.  

The important thing was that the young side got exposed to a much higher level of competition, and they not only learned valuable lessons on the pitch but also off of it. Being a good teammate comes easy when you’re winning. It is in defeat that a team finds out what they’re made of.

Head Coach Oliphant reiterated just as much after the match, adding that “other coaches commented that we looked like a fantastic 15s team playing the wrong code.” The side had no shortage of well trained, fit, and talented players, but lacked a finisher with out and out pace, which put them at a disadvantage to teams that had one or more pure sprinters on the roster.

The young ruggers of New Mexico Tech finish the season with weigh ins and fitness testing, all part of a new training regime under Oliphant that includes personalized summer workout and nutrition plans. The 15s season will start again in early August with a two-week intensive preseason camp prior to the start of the fall semester.