Following a loss to South Carolina in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference Championship, the LSU men’s Rugby team earned a national bid to play in the 2014 USA Rugby Men’s DI-AA Collegiate Playoffs and were soundly beaten by University of Central Florida.
The defending national champions, Central Florida, defeated LSU 50-19 in a lopsided affair.
“Their main strength is their strict [weight] lifting regimen, and every single player had a significant size advantage on us,” said LSU club president Daniel Clesi. “That really shows the varsity sport status of the school versus the club status. It had a big effect on it.”
The difference between varsity level athletics and club was made very clear in this matchup because LSU dropped only one game against a club team all season — South Carolina in the SCRC Championship.
While the loss against UCF prevents LSU from continuing on to round two of the tournament, this year marks the club’s first trip to nationals in five years.
“No player on the team had been to nationals before,” Clesi said. “It is a good way to end your career, at least your career at LSU. Some of the players are going to play for men’s clubs, but it is a good accomplishment to further your career in rugby.”
Despite losing against UCF, LSU closed out its season with a 60-16 victory over Georgia on Sunday in the consolation bracket.
Ironically, LSU began its undefeated regular season with a 52-10 victory on Feb. 1 against Georgia.
Although LSU did not continue on to round two of the tournament, this season is only the first step to building the program into a national powerhouse.
In the regular season, LSU outscored its opponents 239-50 in six regular season games while in postseason play LSU outscored its opponents by only 23 points in four games.
Looking forward, LSU hopes to get stronger by creating and implementing a stricter strength and conditioning program that will help every player on the roster get stronger, Clesi said.
LSU eight man Will Middleton (8) tries to break through Mississippi State defenders Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 during the Tigers' 75-5 win against the Bulldogs at Highland Road Community Park.
