In a match that took parts of two different days to complete after lighting forced a delay on Saturday, men's rugby surged to a 29-8 victory over Life University in the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) D1A quarterfinals Sunday at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri.
Runako Brynard scored twice and
Matteo Peignon added nine points with his foot in the game which propelled the Lions into the semifinals against Navy.
How it Happened:
Lindenwood took a 5-0 lead just four minutes into the match when 2023 Rudy Scholz Award nominee
Nick Hardrict, II sprinted around the edge of the Running Eagles defense to score in the corner, but Life put points on the board 10 minutes later with a converted penalty kick from in front of the posts to cut the deficit to two.
The score remained 5-3 in favor of the Lions until a lineout five meters from the try line was executed perfectly. Brynard patiently followed the moving maul to score his first try of the day in the 20
th minute and Peignon booted the conversion to give Lindenwood a 12-3 advantage.
The Running Eagles stayed within striking distance after quickly answering back when they picked up a loose ball and galloped 50-meters for a score, but the Lions started to pull away from there. With the ball deep in Life territory,
William Groves saw an overlap and delivered a cross field kick to
Tyren Al-Jiboori. The wing gathered the ball out of the air and dotted down in the corner. With the Peignon conversion, Lindenwood led 19-8 in the 29
th minute.
The Lions extended that lead just four minutes later when they dug into their bag of tricks and caught Life off-guard. With a lineout near midfield, Lindenwood tossed to the front lifter. After a pass,
Eduan van Heerden broke free and offloaded to a supporting Peignon who then found Brynard for the final steps into the try zone. Peignon slotted the conversion to push the advantage to 26-8, which was where it stayed until halftime.
In the second half, the Lions focused on field territory and defense to protect their advantage, which worked to perfection. They shut out life the rest of the match and added a Peignon penalty kick in the 69
th minute for the final margin.
Player's Thought:
Captain
Neal Moylett: "We have six days to leave every stone unturned. Not only are we playing for ourselves, but for the name on the wall. It's officially "do or die" time, and we are ready for the challenge."
What's Next:
With the victory, the Lions advanced to the D1A national semifinals and Eastern Conference finals against top ranked Navy. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. EDT at Brigade Sports Complex in Annapolis, Maryland. The winner of that match will play for the D1A national title May 6 at Aveva Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Starting Lineup:
- Chad Tinney – 56' Asher Webb
- Runako Brynard – 66' Kayleb O'Donoghue
- Connor Devos – 76' Luke Schaefer
- Eduan van Heerden – 73' Dylan Fortune
- Alejandro Martinez Tapia
- Duncan Krige
- Cian Darling – 56' Calvin Ihrig
- Neal Moylett
- Matteo Peignon - 76' Jeremy Zwick
- William Groves
- Tyren Al-Jiboori - 66' Kobe Millar
- Rhys Smith
- Stephin Alberts – 71' Clayton Means
- Nick Hardrict, II
- Brendan Mason
Scoring Summary:
4' Lindenwood Nick Hardrict, II 5-0
14' Life Penalty Kick 5-3
20' Lindenwood Try Runako Brynard 10-3
21' Lindenwood Conversion Matteo Peignon 12-3
23' Life Try 12-8
28' Lindenwood Try Tyren Al-Jiboori 17-8
29' Lindenwood Conversion Matteo Peignon 19-8
33' Lindenwood Try Runako Brynard 24-8
33' Lindenwood Conversion Matteo Peignon 26-8
69' Lindenwood Penalty Kick Matteo Peignon 29-8
