North Panhandle Times

Rugby Has Several Invited to NCR Collegiate Rugby All Stars Weekend

 After the holiday season is celebrated, it will be back to work for Wheeling University Athletics' winter sports teams. However, one of their spring teams will get an early start as several Wheeling University Rugby players earned an invitation to the 2023 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Collegiate Rugby All-Stars Weekend. The event will be held at Aveva Stadium, home of Major League Rugby's Houston Sabercats, in Houston, Texas. 

Last season, the Cardinals had 10 players invited to the event, and they had similar numbers invited this season as they are once again well represented. The 2022 15's season was the best 15's season in program history as they finished 6th in the country according to the NCR's final Coaches Poll. They made their first-ever trip to the NCR 15's National Playoffs and were one of two teams from the inaugural Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) that were represented. After winning their first-round matchup against Belmont Abbey for their first NCR 15's playoff win, the Cardinals would enter the elite eight. There, they ran into the eventual NCR Division I National Champion Brown University. Their season would unfortunately come to an end as they fell 27-7, ending another strong season for the program. 

Many of the Cardinal's leaders from the 2022 regular season are among the invited for this year's event. Leading the way is junior Ayoub Jalli, who was the Cardinal's kicking game leader attempting the most conversion kicks for the team this season. Jalli led the Cardinals in points with 86 this season and came up big when his team needed him the most. In the Cardinal's three playoff games this season, Jalli totaled 24 points in three games, with his biggest performance coming against Adrian College, where he totaled 18 points, including three three-point kicks. 

Joining Jalli will be each of the Cardinal's top two scorers from the 2022 season in Aaron Juma and Lawula Bata. Juma led the Cardinals with 11 tries during the 2022 season and didn't start the year until the team's fifth game of the season. However, he made his presence felt right away, scoring a try in his collegiate debut, and adding at least one try in six of the seven games he played in this season. Lawula Bata scored in the first game of the season but turned it on as the season moved forward. He would finish the year with five tries, including one of the craziest tries of the year in the team's regular season game against Adrian College. 

The 2023 NCR Collegiate Rugby All-Star weekend will be held in Houston, Texas on January 14th, and January 15th at Aveva Stadium. For more information, including full rosters, a schedule of events, and more, click HERE. 

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