Good Return For Old Maroon Members
Press Release
September 29, 2007
Written By Josh Back
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The 3rd XV started slowly against Sul Ross. Both packs were heavily contesting the ball and the Sul Ross No. 8 played particularly well. For A&M, flyhalf Marcus Johnson was head and shoulders above everyone else, scoring a couple of tries and kicking well in the process. The pressure throughout the game was too much for Sul Ross who seemed disinterested midway through the second half. However, to their credit, they had the last laugh as they bundled in a try at the final whistle to leave the score 24-10 in the Aggies’ favor.
The next match saw the return of players who had graduated from the Aggie Rugby family. Last year the Old Maroon side won more than convincingly against a weakened XV. This year, the youngsters wanted to prove a point. The Alumni were not given as easy of a ride. With them fielding players who appeared in the Playoffs no less than five months ago, one might have thought they would thrive due to the quality mix of youth and experience. The current 1st XV saw the match as a way to show the older players how things were done now and how far the program has progressed since their time here. The Aggies fielded an almost full strength side to compete with the Old Maroon team boasting ex-All Americans and current Men’s Division One players. Massive hits were a mainstay. In particular was a bulldozing rampage by Sam Rooke over one of his long time friends. Flanker Allan Campbell had seemed to have forgotten he’d lost over twenty pounds over the summer. Excellent play by both teams made the game a joy to watch. The final score was 26-10 to the 1st XV.
The last Men’s match of the day was a contest against the University of Texas Graduates. A very youthful 2nd XV took the field. Unfortunately it wasn’t much of a contest at all. The colossal eight hundred pound Aggie front row asked questions of the Grads that they could not answer. The scrums had to go to uncontested long before the half time whistle. Similarly, the pace and execution of running lines in the backs proved too much for the Grads to handle. But for some good tackling on the wings, the deficit could have been even larger. The Texas A&M defense held out strong to convert turnovers into points without reply. All that said, it was a good game to watch in terms of excitement. The 46-0 score told the story. Nevertheless, the Aggies know that they still have plenty to improve on.
Texas A&M Rugby wishes to thank everyone attached to the Old Maroon network. Without their knowledge and support, the club would not be where it is today. We want to welcome back our friends for next year’s Old Maroon weekend where we’ll hand out another beating…