The St. Joe’s men’s rugby team is off to a 6-0 start this season after conference playoff runs that fell short the past two years, both highlighted by losses in the Division 1AA National Championship. The Hawks are currently the number one ranked Division IAA team in the nation.
For senior center Matt Lydon, part of the team’s current drive comes from the lingering feelings of the two national championships losses.
“Those two national championships that we lost are still in the back of our minds every practice, every game, but that’s just what we are driving towards,” Lydon said. “Hopefully come towards the end of this fall season, we can make a push for that national championship.”
Lydon said that every underdog is targeting to beat them for bragging rights that they defeated the number one ranked team in the D1AA. He said the team stays focused on the little details and building up on those in order to maintain their success in the regular season this year.
“It’s just about keeping the momentum and not trying to build crazy upon craziness,” Lydon said. “It’s taking the small things, building the small things, refining the small things, making sure our plays are crisp, making sure we’re still doing the little stuff.”
For senior captain scrumhalf Noah Niumataiwalu, the toughest test of the season so far came against West Chester University on Oct. 18 when the squad was still only 5-0. Niumataiwalu called it one of the “biggest games of the season” against “one of our tougher opponents in the conference.”
After the team pulled out with a 47-10 victory over West Chester, Coach Daniel Yarusso praised the players’ performance.
“Going into that match both teams were undefeated, so we knew it was going to be a good match and that we had to bring our best,” Yarusso said. “Our guys certainly did that, and they really shined through that match, and I think it shows by the end result.”
Although the team often relies on its veteran heavy leadership from players like Niumataiwalu and Lydon, part of the team’s success this year is due to others who have stepped up in a big way to perform well when needed. One of those players, Yarusso said, is sophomore full back John Ahern.
“He’s just a phenomenal player, had a fantastic freshman year, and he’s picking up right where he left off,” Yarusso said. “He’s just a fantastic rugby player for us.”
For Niumataiwalu, the step-up player is freshman center Will Woods.
“He’s been playing unbelievable, and defensively, he’s really helped us in the back,” Niumataiwalu said. “I’m really looking forward to what he brings to the table.”
For Yarusso, the emphasis during the team’s hot start to the regular season has been on two things, maintaining focus as well as finding ways to keep guys healthy in the long term.
“We gotta stay hungry because we know at any game, whether it’s our last two conference games or once we get into the playoffs, we could potentially lose, and so we just need to remain focused all the way through,” Yarusso said. “The other thing we need to do is we need to stay healthy. It’s going to be a long race to the finish here and getting through to that championship game, which is our ultimate goal.”
Niumataiwalu already has his eyes on the finish, and the ultimate prize that has eluded the team the last two seasons.
“If we can lock this up, we’ll be set for the playoffs, and we can just worry about recovering and getting ready for that long run we know too well,” Niumataiwalu said. “We’re really trying to get that right this year.”
