PROVIDENCE, R.I. - On April 18 and 19, the Roger Williams Men’s Rugby team RWU made the final four of the Beast of the East Tournament, the largest collegiate rugby tournament in the world.
RWU opened the tournament with a slim 3-0 victory over a very capable Colby College Side. A penalty kick by flyhalf Pat Allen and a game-saving tackle by fullback Alex Felton put the Hawks on top and started the roll toward the final four.
Later in the day, RWU took on Union College from Schenectady New York. The Hawks shut down the offensive attack by Union. Felton prevented the only real scoring chance that Union had by tracking down their wing and creating a turnover with a 1-on-1 open field tackle. Wing Ben Emery scored two tries and Allen scored a penalty kick to help the Hawks finish 15-0 and advance to the sweet 16 round.
On Sunday morning, RWU was paired up against Sacred Heart University, a team that dominated its first two opponents. With a solid game plan, the Hawks attacked the X-men aggressively. The Hawks contained the Sacred Heart forwards and Centers then attacked the outside, scoring two tries from the wing position with massive open side overloads. RWU shut out its opponent with a second 15-0 victory advancing to the final four, along with Boston University and two other Rhode Island teams, Bryant University and Providence College.
During the final four, the Hawkss run was stopped by Bryant University. Though RWU opened the game driving fairly effectively on the Bulldogs, numerous penalties pinned the Hawks close to their own goal line. A missed tackle put Bryant up 5-0, a score that remained for the majority of the game. With 10 minutes remaining, Bryant scored a second time of a second missed tackle. While the run to the final was cut short, the team remained proud of the weekend’s accomplishment. It was a great run and we had a great time. RWU would also like to thank all of our alumni, family, and friends that came out to support the hawks this weekend.
- Release by Men’s Rugby Sophomore Matthew Stein