So far this season, competition in what is perhaps the strongest conference top to bottom in all of college rugby has been predictably tight.
The newly-formed Atlantic Rugby Conference features six top-tier men’s programs from across the country, all of whom are well coached, well resourced, and want desperately to be the best. Earlier in September, all six teams played an intraconference foe on the same Saturday and all three matches were decided by a total of eight points. That’s how razor thin the margins are.
With that in mind, we should all expect some fireworks when ARC members Wheeling and Queens meet under the bright lights on Friday night with a conference win worth its weight in gold on the line.
While St. Bonaventure has announced itself as the early favorites in the ARC with an unblemished 3-0 record, Wheeling are hot on their tails with a 1-1 record and a dangerous lineup that is capable of lighting up the scoreboard at a moment’s notice. The Cardinals are coming off of a 7s National Championship in the Spring and only got better heading into the Fall after adding prized offseason transfer Takudzwa “Taku” Musingwini from Iowa Central Community College. The dynamic, versatile back joined a roster full of other dynamic, versatile backs, giving first-year head coach Maxwell Hamilton an excellent problem to have when selecting his matchday 15.
Hamilton, who spent a number of years with the program as an assistant coach before Mike Geibel stepped down this summer after taking on a larger role at the University, has chosen to deploy Musingwini exclusively at flyhalf so far this season despite his strong resume as a fullback at ICCC. This decision has paid off so far, with the Zimbabwe native opening up scoring opportunities for his fellow countryman, senior Alex Nyamunda, who moved to inside center this season and leads the Cardinals with nine tries. Musingwini has also boosted Wheeling with his boot, leading the team with nine conversions and three penalty kicks made.
Wheeling put its scoring acumen on display in its first conference game this season against Kutztown, defeating the Golden Bears 34-19. During that contest, Nyamunda scored twice and broke the Wheeling record for career tries in a 15s season that was set eight years ago by former Cardinal Pete Malcolm. Sophomore Panashe Mugorogodi scored Wheeling’s first points in that match and has been a standout for the squad so far this season on the wing.
The Cardinals stumbled a little last week, though, falling to ARC competitors Walsh University 26-24 after a last-minute comeback attempt fell short. The loss, however close, ups the stakes for the matchup against Queens, a squad that is still searching for its first conference win.
The Royals have only played one ARC match so far this season, falling to St. Bonaventure 32-29 despite taking an early 12-0 lead over the first-place Bonnies.
“We fought for 80 minutes but made too many mistakes at critical moments in the match,” said first-year head coach Tyree Reed who, like Hamilton, served as an assistant coach with the program for a time before getting his chance to lead. “Sometimes rugby comes down to who executes in those critical moments, and the Bonnies did that. They capitalized on our every mistake. Hats off to them.”
(TCRS Trivia: Queens is also coached by assistant Doyle Hedgepeth who was a standout front row player for the Royals and was actually drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLR Draft by what was then Rugby United New York.)
The standouts in that match for Queens have been the stalwarts for the team so far this Fall. Senior captain, and South Carolina native, Roan Shawver has been bullying teams all season from various spots in the forward pack, providing a formidable physical presence for the Royals. But the offense this season has run through the talented South African Hilton Olivier who did it all from the scrumhalf position against the Bonnies, scoring a try, three conversions, and a penalty kick.
Unlike Hamilton, Reed has used the early matches this season, a win against DIAA side Kentucky (47-13) and a 14-50 loss to powerhouse Navy, to experiment with his roster construction. Shawver played as a loose forward in the game against Kentucky before sliding into the front row as a tighthead prop for the contests against Navy and St. Bonaventure. Olivier spent the first two matches of the season at flyhalf before donning the 9 jersey against the Bonnies last week.
Budding superstar Zach Colson played inside center for the first two matches of the season but was replaced in the starting lineup by junior John Steel against St. Bonaventure. Senior speedster Everette Boyd actually began the season coming off the bench for the team’s second side in its match against Tennessee. He worked his way onto the first squad as a finisher against both Navy and St. Bonaventure, and has perhaps earned himself a starting spot after taking a kickoff deep into Bonnies territory and setting up a try that gave Queens a 29-25 lead with under three minutes to play. Reed will certainly need all of his best athletes in the backline to keep pace with Wheeling’s explosive ensemble.
For Queens, a win in this match would put them squarely back in playoff contention as they would draw level with the other middle-of-the-pack teams Walsh and Belmont Abbey, who they play the following week at home. A loss would put them at 0-2 in the ARC and have them sitting at the bottom of the table with 0-3 Kutztown.
A win for Wheeling would make them the only other team with multiple conference wins and therefore secure their status as the number two team despite their loss to Walsh, who play St. Bonaventure on Friday afternoon. A loss to Queens could quickly escalate into a losing streak as the Cardinals travel to face the Bonnies on October 25.
The match will be streamed LIVE tomorrow night at 7pm EST on YouTube.
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