UMW men’s rugby earns two wins over Mount St. Mary’s

In the 1st XV match, Benjamin Peters opened the scoring with a well-worked try from a maul inside Mount's 22 meters. Assisted by RJ Berlington, Peters added the conversion, making the score 7-0. Senior Aiden Hayward got on the board next, walking into the try zone untouched. Peters assisted that try after the forward pack condensed the defense as the Mothers took a 12-0 lead. Some great defensive pressure turned into points for UMW as Max McKittrick started with an impressive effort when Hayward picked up a loose ball and assisted McKittrick, who finished over the line. Peters added the conversion to make it 19-0. With five minutes left in the first half, the pressure by the Mothers' attack kept up, leading to an intentional knock-on by Mount. This led to a penalty try for UMW and a 26-0 lead with three minutes remaining in the opening period. After a blundered kickoff receipt, Mount mauled in a try, which posted the halftime score at 26-7.

After halftime, the Mothers struck first, with Aiden Hayward finding the try line again. This time a well-worked maul play led to space out wide. Some smooth ball movement led to Thomas Howard finding Hayward, who raced to the corner as the Mothers extended the lead to 31-7. Mount stormed back in the rain and with wind at their backs to cut the deficit to 31-26 at the final whistle.

In the 2nd XV match, the Mothers controlled the match from the opening kickoff. Transfer Charley Maxwell scored twice off set-piece plays. Oscar Fenby had a hat trick and some highlight-reel scores. Oran Ritson also dotted one over the line. Ronan Foley impressively went 5-for-6 off the tee, and the Mothers' 2nd XV took home a 40-14 victory.

Both sides travel to No. 6 Life University this weekend in the next Rugby East matchup.

The Mothers' next home contest will be against No. 23 Southern Virginia University on October 24 for homecoming weekend.