After suffering a Mid-South Conference (MSC) loss to Life on the road a month ago, men's rugby returned the favor for a 17-7 victory over the Running Eagles Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri. In what could be argued as the D1A match of the week, Matteo Peignon scored seven points for Lindenwood and Nick Hardrict, II and Runako Brynard each scored a try.  
  
How it Happened:    
A battle for field position was on display throughout the entire match. In the first half, the Lions had the wind at their back and were able to keep the ball in Life territory to apply pressure. That strategy paid off in the 13^th minute when Peignon took advantage of a Running Eagles penalty and shimmied his way through the defense for a try in the corner. He then called his own number for the conversion to give Lindenwood a 7-0 lead.  
 
After a 22-meter restart and two consecutive penalties, the Lions were forced to defend against a Life line-out just 15-meters from the try line. Lindenwood collapsed a charging maul just short of a Running Eagles score resulting in the awarding of a penalty try. A successful conversion tied the contest 7-7 at the 25-minute mark.  
 
That proved to be the only scoring in the first half as both teams struggled with swirling winds and sub-freezing temperatures that made kicking for points difficult.
 
With scoring at a premium, Life pressured the Lions defense for the first 30 minutes of the second half creating multiple opportunities, but Lindenwood kept the Running Eagles from adding any points to the scoreboard.
 
With only 10 minutes remaining in the match, the Lions executed a scrum near midfield. Rhys Smith tossed a pass to Tyren Al-Jiboori, who then offloaded the ball to Hardrict, II for the play of the game. Taking off down the sideline, he used his footwork to step and bypass any tackling attempts and then outran the opposition for the 50-meter try to extend the lead to 12-7. 
 
With time winding down, Lindenwood capitalized on another opportunity. Cian Darling scooped the ball off the ground and gave it to Hardrict, II who carried the ball to the 22-meter line. Peignon took the ball himself and offloaded to Brynard who darted to the corner to score the match clinching try.  
 
Player Thoughts:  
Senior and Captain Neal Moylett: "Sometimes great teams don't always play the best, but great teams will find a way to win and that is what we did today." 
  
What's Next:    
With the victory, the Lions improved to 4-1 in the MSC to sit atop the conference standings. They will have a chance to secure the MSC championship when they host Arkansas State March 25. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Hunter Stadium with the game streamed live on ESPN+.  
 
Other Match: 
Earlier in the day, the Lindenwood and Life second sides competed in what could have been the most electric 2^nd XV match in the country. The Lions outlasted the Running Eagles 17-12 with Clayton Means continuously breaking through the Life backline and Micah Duffield doing an excellent job of running the offense from the scrumhalf position.  
 
Starting Lineup:     

1. Chad Tinney – 55' Asher Webb  
2. Kayleb O'Donoghue 
3. Connor Devos – 70' Setu Vole  
4. Eduan van Heerden - 56' Duncan Krige    
5. Alejandro Martinez Tapia – 66' Calvin Ihrig 
6. Cian Darling – 74' Dylan Fortune 
7. Runako Brynard   
8. Neal Moylett  
9. Matteo Peignon  
10. William Groves     
11. Tyren Al-Jiboori  
12. Rhys Smith  
13. Stephin Alberts – 46' Kobe Millar  
14. Nick Hardrict, II   
15. Brendan Mason  

     
Scoring Summary:     
13' Lindenwood Try Matteo Peignon 5-0  
13' Lindenwood Conversion Matteo Peignon 7-0  
25' Life Penalty Try 7-7 
69' Lindenwood Try Nick Hardrict, II 12-7 
74' Lindenwood Try Runako Brynard 17-7