On Wednesday night, National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) and The Goff Rugby Report named their weekly D1 Gamebreakers of the Week. 13 players from across Division I Rugby were honored for their hard work on the pitch and a Wheeling University Rugby player was among the players honored. Freshman Aaron Juma was named the top D1 Gamebreaker of the Week, after scoring a pair of tries in the team's 38-26 neutral site win over Iowa Central Community College, a rematch of last season's NCR Rhino Rugby Bowl.
While Juma did not play in the previous year's game, he was lethal with the ball in his hands throughout the afternoon. After Wheeling got out in front on their first possession, Juma goth the ball in on the Cardinals second possession that put Wheeling ahead 14-5. After heading into halftime with a 26-12 lead, Juma would help the Cardinals get back on the board to start the second half. On Wheeling's first possession of the half, Juma crossed the try line for his second of the day and put Wheeling ahead 33-12. It was Juma's first multi-try game of the season as he helped lead Wheeling to a big victory that evened up their record in Big Rivers Rugby Conference play.
In the first four games of the season, Juma had trouble finding his way on offense, not scoring a try in any of those games. However, he has turned it on over the last three contests, scoring four tries in three games and being a spark to the big bounce back effort against Iowa Central. He currently has four tries on the season, and now finds himself second on the team behind fellow freshman Krishna Kwenda, who has seven tries in six games. As the Cardinals come down the stretch, Juma will once again look to be a spark for the offense as they try to clinch a spot in the NCR Division I 15's playoffs.
Juma is the second Wheeling University Rugby player to win a Goff Rugby Report D1 Gamebreaker of the Week award. Back during the third week of the season, junior Joe Iye took home the award after scoring two tries and converting on six conversion kicks in eight chances. With two more games left on the schedule, the Cardinals are looking to finish the season strong as they race down the stretch of the 2022 15's season.
The Wheeling University Rugby team will return to action on Saturday, October 22nd, when they play their final home game of the regular season against Adrian College with kick-off scheduled for 1 PM.
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