CHESWICK, Pa. -- The Kutztown Men's Rugby team started their pre-season training camp on August 18th, 2023. They worked diligently through blistering hot, two-a-day practices, all for this moment, when their bus pulled into Founders Field in Pittsburgh. This was the moment they were going to step off of the bus and into the future. The new season had arrived. The new players and the veterans were there to test themselves and the chemistry they had been experimenting with under the blistering August sun. They were anxious, excited and ready for their first opponent, Adrian College from Adrian, Michigan. The Bulldogs are a Division One National Collegiate Rugby member that finished last season ranked #11 in the NCR National Rankings. They compete in the Midwest D1 Rugby Conference and operate as a member of the Adrian College Athletic Department.
The Golden Bears were facing them for the first time and embraced the opportunity to take on a new team from outside their conference. Kutztown had a good recruiting class and the side was mixed with established veterans and young hopefuls. The weather was overcast with rain the day before and threatening as luminous clouds mixed with intermittent sunshine. The humidity was thick and the players warm-up session had them soaked with sweat as they lined up for the kickoff.
Adrian fielded the high kick and proceeded up the field in an aggressive style that was met with bone jarring resistance as the Golden Bears were happy to take it, as well as dish it out. A few territorial kicks were exchanged and Kutztown found themselves within the Bulldog's ten
meter line and lined up for their throw-in. It was a clean take and the Golden Bears immediately formed a driving maul that saw them walk it to the try zone, where Tight Head Prop,
Rotuk Rahedi (Nairobi, Kenya/Millfield) bulldozed his way into the corner of the try zone, for the first score of the fall campaign. The conversion missed and the score was KU 5, Adrian 0.
The Kutztown Back line moved the ball wide at every opportunity and the fringe attack was a threat , especially with the speed of Kutztown Wing,
Colin Warner (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East). It was within minutes of the first try, when Kutztown launched a quick restart and immediately spun the ball wide to the outstretched hands of Warner, who gathered in the Bread of Heaven and sped down the sideline for twenty yards untouched. He planted the ball in the corner of the try zone and Giorgi Kuparadze converted to make the score KU 12, Adrian 0
The two sides played extremely physical throughout the first half but the Golden Bears were just to organized for the Bulldogs. Kutztown possession was bending the Adrian defense when it broke once again. This time
Benedict Quinn (York, England/St Peter's School) took an Adrian high Up & Under kick on the Kutztown side of the halfway line and proceeded to run a serrated zig zag path through the Adrian defense. He fended off numerous tacklers and catapulted through gaps, on his way to touching down in the promise land. The conversion was wide left and the scoreboard read KU 17, Adrian 0. It wasn't but a few minutes later when Kutztown Scrum Half,
Aidan Smith (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) found a crease near the ruck and much to the chagrin of the Bulldog defense, Aidan slipped through and raced to the try zone. He touched down near the posts and Giorgi converted easily. KU 24, Adrian 0.
It was near the 31:00 mark of the first half, when a pushing and shoving match ensued after a ruck, on the Kutztown side of the field. As Kutztown's Lock,
Kevin Swanton (Milton, Mass./Milton) was getting up from the ground, an Adrian player saw it fitting to give Swanton a full blown shove to his chest. Of course, Kevin reacted in self defense and pushed the Adrian player as well. There was a short proclamation of choice obscenities exchanged and after the combatants were separated by their teammates, everyone returned to the enraptured charm of those known as rugby forwards. No harm, no foul. Until the referee decided, that in the melee, one of Swanton's shoves had his hand placed to close to the perpetrators throat. The referee then proceeded, to the amazement of all in attendance, to pull a red card out of his pocket and point it at Swanton. Now, Kutztown was going to be forced to play the next forty nine minutes of the rugby match with only fourteen players. Dire straits for any team placed in that situation. However, as the first stanza wore down to the forty minute mark, the Golden Bears hung on to keep Adrian out of the try zone.
The second half started with Adrian working their way into Kutztown territory and slotting a penalty kick to get on the scoreboard. KU 24, Adrian 3. The Kutztown back line continued to pressure the Adrian defense with wide ball as the Golden Bear forwards kept a lot of those Bulldogs in the middle of the pitch, defending brutal assaults by the big men in the Hoops. It was a unified team effort on the part of the Golden Bears that opened up a gap seen by Center,
Archie Grayson (Bristol, England/Clifton College). Archie took a step inside, read the defenders in his path and left them in his wake as he committed to the gap and propelled himself into the void. The conversion was wide once again but Kutztown was showing stability and confidence as they retreated for the restart. KU 29, Adrian 3. As the game progressed, Adrian picked up an errant Kutztown ball and took it to the house to make the score KU 29, Adrian 10.
However, as the game continued, Kutztown pinned Adrian deep in their own territory and pressured them into numerous mistakes. Golden Bear, Smith was uncanny in his ability to read a defense. Not once but twice, he made the Bulldogs pay the price when they didn't regroup quick enough on defense. He is as smart as he is elusive and he finished the day with a HAT TRICK to start his 2023 fall season. The final score was KU 41, Adrian 10. Kutztown travels to Rugby East rival, St. Bonaventure, on Saturday, September 16,2023.
RUN WITH THE BEARS !
