St. Bonaventure defeated Queens University, 55-19, to claim the Men’s Division I national title Saturday at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, Texas. The win gives the Bonnies their second championship in program history, having won in 2021, and first under head coach Danny Neighbors.
The Bonnies blazed into the first half with a firm 17-0 lead thanks to tries from hooker Reynard Boshoff and flanker Rhys Cunningham, with two conversions and a penalty kick from flyhalf Noah Edwards. The Royals slipped in a try from center Gideon Wessels and conversion from scrumhalf Hilton Olivier, but the Bonnies held on to the lead, adding another try from scrumhalf Troy Heroldt and conversion from Edwards to close out the half 24-7.
Hooker Joshua Schwartz grabbed a try for the Royals to start the second half, assisted by a conversion from Olivier. The Bonnies absolutely rocked the rest of the half, scoring four more tries from center Edward Nelson, Heroldt (twice) and prop Michael Sears.
With a powerful boot on Edwards, four more conversions were grabbed with the addition of a penalty kick. Fullback Zach Colson of the Royals grounded the last try of the match, sealing the championship win for St Bonaventure.
MVP of the match went to none other than scrumhalf Troy Heroldt for his incredible effort on the pitch.
