The Eagles may not have kept up with the Wildcats physically, but they were able to force the team out of its rhythm in the second half, upsetting UK 17-8 on Saturday afternoon.

Sticking together as a team and playing with confidence were the two adjustments the USI rugby team made when trailing by just three points at halftime.

“From a team standpoint, this win speaks wonders,” senior scrum-half Tyler Pipes said. “I don’t mean to bash other sports from our school, but when was the last time any sport beat a D-I side? I think sticking together as a team and pulling this victory out speaks wonders to the dedication and time we’ve put in.”

Pipes gave USI the final lead in the second half coming out of a scrum in Eagles territory. The first UK defender was playing wide and Pipes hit the inside gap as sophomore Doug Rose pulled away another defender by distracting him. That left Pipes with a hole inside the goal posts as he dove in for a try. The conversion kick made the score 7-3 Eagles.

Rose extended the lead roughly fifteen minutes later on a similar play.

“Pipes hit me out of the scrum and we were really trying to push out so their defense was spread out even more,” Rose said. “As soon as I went in to fake a pass, I saw the guy leaning outside and went in.”

In the first half, the Eagles admitted to paying more attention to what UK was doing rather than concentrating on their own play. As the game went on, this mentality reversed. USI buckled down defensively by setting up post and picks to neutralize the UK offense.

USI head coach Kurt Murrell was in the center of the action as the referee but was not allowed to coach during the game. He said if there was a close call, he was tougher on his own players.

“We started off a bit slow, but they just don’t have the confidence they should yet,” Murrell said. “Once they found the confidence in the second half is when they started to play a little better.”

Though it was an exhibition game and won’t count in the win-loss column, the team said UK was the most athletic and fundamentally strong team it has faced. The win gives USI much needed-confidence as they prepare to make a run at the Indiana Small College Rugby Playoffs.

USI will travel to DePauw University for its first league game on Saturday.

Link to original post: http://www.usishield.com/2012/09/usi-rugby-upsets-division-i-kentucky/

In club sports, money doesn’t talk.

With limited financial resources, the USI rugby team takes its talking to the field.

After a 36-17 win in its season opener against Western Kentucky University last week, the Eagles (1-0) have their eyes set on the University of Kentucky (0-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Intramural and Recreational Field. 

Within the past five years, the team has given students wanting a football team something else to root for instead. No longer viewed as an odd-ball sport, the growing popularity of rugby has caught the attention of several USI fans and continues to grow across the nation.

“My freshman year, we maybe had 20 or 30 people come out to our games – mostly just our family and girlfriends,” senior Tyler Pipes said. “Now, there’s a ton of support from Greek Life and other fans. We probably have around 150 to 200 fans come out now.

“I remember when we went up to Wabash for the state championship last fall, we even had our own student section travel up for it.”

USI lost that match by just three points, ending the season with a respectable 5-2 record – followed by a 3-1 record in the spring.

This fall, the team features plenty of athleticism in former high school football, wrestling and baseball players. Under the tutelage of fourth-year head coach Kurt Murrell, who has been active in the sport for over 20 years, the Eagles feel they have one of the most experienced and fundamentally strong teams it has ever had.

“We’ve just really been sticking to the basics in practice,” junior Justin Mizen said. “When you get ahead of yourself, that’s when you start turning the ball over and losing matches. … We feel like we can beat just about anyone.”

USI has proven they can beat Division I clubs in the recent past. A win against UK, who plays in one of the most athletically-gifted conferences in the nation, adds even more to the respect the team has gained over the past five years.

Link to original post: http://www.usishield.com/2012/09/rugby-incomplete/