On Sunday, some of the best rugby players around the Pittsburgh area converged in Hendersonville, Tennessee for the Pittsburgh Forge U23 team's rugby match against USA South U23 Academy. Among the players were 15 Wheeling Rugby players and they played a big part in the 62-26 Pittsburgh win. The Cardinals accounted for eight of the 10 team tries on the day and six of the conversion kicks in the win.
The biggest day for the Cardinals came from freshman Lawula Bata, who scored three tries on the day, setting a new collegiate high. It was his first multi-try game of the season and it came in a big game. Bata got the scoring started in just the third minute of the game and followed that up with another try in the very next possession. He would t get across the try line again until the second half, scoring in the 73rd minute to complete his day. Bata scored five tries during the season for the Cardinals and was the third highest score for the Cardinals during the season. The other five Wheeling tries came from five different Cardinals as the offense spread the ball around throughout the day.
Larry Old would score his first try of the 15's season on the team's third possession, followed by EJ Vidal's first try two scores later. The Cardinals leading scorer from the 2022 15's season, Aaron Juma, was up next and pushed his lone try of the day across the line in the 44th minute. Clarouly Meca added his second try in the 58th minute and Ashcraf Boutfanzout added the final Wheeling try of the day. Two other tries were scored by the Pittsburgh Forge on the day in the 21st and 76th minute to round out the offense. Wheeling was also responsible for all six conversion kicks on the day with Boutfanzout and Chief Chipfumbu going 3-3 each on the day. Chipfumbu kicked the first three conversion kicks while Boutfanzout added the final three kicks on the day.
It was the second year in a row that Wheeling Rugby was represented with the Pittsburgh Forge U23 team. In 2021, the Cardinals sent eight players to the game against the Old Glory Dominion U23 team. The team had four more players on this year's team then they had on last year's team as they continue to grow the legacy of Wheeling Rugby. The Cardinals have made it to the National Stage in each of the last two seasons, including an All-American award winner a season ago. As they get ready to head into seven's season, the team looks to continue their success and find their way back to the NCR CRC 7's at the end of April.
The Wheeling University Rugby team now looks ahead to 7's season in February as they head into the holiday break.
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