HAMPDEN SYDNEY, VA – The Tigers' record fell to 2-1 at home and overall to 2-3 as they lost their final home match of the fall 2017 season to the University of Richmond Spiders. Hampden-Sydney had beaten Emory and Henry on Ellis Rugby Pitch the previous week, while Richmond had a weekend off after falling to Christopher Newport on the first weekend of October. This match had playoff implications, as the outcome would determine the #3 and #4 spots in the Challengers bracket at the Cardinals Collegiate Rugby Conference NSCRO Tournament in two weeks. The two sides were evenly matched, by and large, but Richmond found advantage in the loose and at the ruck as well as in a comparatively strong kicking game, making the difference in the match.
Despite the final outcome, things started off well for the Tigers as they were the first on the scoreboard for the fourth time in five matches this season. Back-and-forth penalties and set pieces in the opening five minutes eventually gave way when the Tigers secured a penalty near their 10m line. The kick failed to find touch but was knocked on by the Richmond player. The Tigers won their scrum and no. 8 Conor McCabe—who moved back into the pack for personnel reasons with the loss of hooker Will Wilson—picked the ball, charging ahead. The Tigers kept possession through five phases and worked to the wide side of the field, where Richmond committed another penalty inside 5m from their own goal. Second-row Jonathan Abkemeier took the pass of the tap kick and set a ruck near the goal line. Scrum-half Dakota Reinartz found captain and second-row Lawson Omer, who avoided the first Richmond defender and dove in for the first try of the day during the 7th minute. Brennan Vaught's conversion kick was no good, but the Tigers had the first lead, 0-5.
Hampden-Sydney was on the board just thirty seconds after the kick restart when Conor McCabe found rookie wing Alex Dent just outside midfield in the 9th minute, and Alex outran defenders, being tackled just as he crossed the goal line for his first career try. The try came when the Tiger back line quickly reversed field after the second ruck of their possession. The Richmond defenders were bunched up near the ruck and could not get back to the wide side of the field quickly enough. It was a smart, heads-up move and demonstrates the kind of open-ended, creative play we encourage. Brennan Vaught's kick was again off the mark, so the lead only grew by five, 0-10.
The Tigers were unable to find the try zone again in the first half. Both of the first tries had come from continuity in play and working the ball wide to exploit better positioning. In the 20th minute, however, fly-half Ciaran Lewis suffered a cut over his right eye and was subbed off for blood and did not return. Dylan Cate came on in substitution and did an admirable job in a position he had not really practiced, but he was, technically, a fourth-string fly-half, with Austin Hardman and Gray Breeden still out with injury. The continuity and flow on both attack and defense never quite recovered. Indeed, Richmond attacked quickly and scored their first points of the day just three minutes later in the 21st minute. The conversion kick was no good, but Richmond had cut the lead in half, 5-10.
The final points of the first half came in the 30th minute off a Tiger miscue. The Tiger backs were running a looping play when the looper was caught in a tackle and made an ill-advised pass out of contact. The ball fell slightly short of the supporting player and bounced in front of him. The Richmond winger was quick to scoop it up, avoiding two tackles and breaking one on his way in for the try. The conversion was good and the Spiders took the lead by two, 12-10.
Hampden-Sydney scored first in the second half. Richmond took the kickoff into a ruck and worked across the field. On the second phase, their inside center tried kick through the defensive line, but fullback Brennan Vaught fielded the kick and counter-attacked to the opposite side of the field. His run ended with a high tackle and the Tigers ran a pods penalty play, unfortunately losing possession in the ruck. After a couple of phases, the Spiders knocked the ball on and the Tigers won their ensuing scrum. An offsides penalty by Richmond in the next phase gave the Tigers a penalty about 15m out. Dakota Reinartz's kick sailed into touch and gave the Tigers a 5m lineout. They ran front-pod crash play but somehow lost possession in the ruck. The Spiders took the ball into the goal and were tackled there, giving the Tigers a 5m scrum. The ensuing scrum, unfortunately, was the only of their own put-in the Tigers lost during the match. The Richmond no. 8 picked the ball but was immediately met by two Tiger defenders. In the ruck, Hampden-Sydney no. 8 Conor McCabe poached the ball and took it into goal during the 47th minute for the Tigers' third try of the day. Brennan Vaught's kick was no good, but the Tigers had regained the lead, 12-15.
Richmond answered in the 55th minute after the Tigers lost one of their lineouts. Richmond moved the ball wide while the Tiger back line was comparatively slow to come up in defense. Inside center Will Harrison was in a position to make the tackle and slow down the Spider attack, but his opposing number managed to get a pass off in contact to their fly-half, whose loop created a 3v2 overload against the Tiger outside center and wing. The Richmond attackers executed their passes well and their wing made the last man miss, striding in for the try. The kick was good and Richmond took the lead back, 19-15.
The Tigers' final points on the day came a few minutes later in the 59th minute. The Tigers kicked deep, where it was fielded by the Richmond fly-half, who kicked for clearance. Fullback Brennan Vaught again took the ball in play and countered to the near side of the field, eventually being taken into touch between the Richmond 10m and 22m lines. Richmond won their lineout—although sloppily—and the Tigers aggressively counter-rucked, with prop Chris De Salvo eventually winning the ball. In the next phase, a Richmond player committed a unique penalty of diving-over-from-the-side, for which the Tigers were awarded a penalty. A temporarily injured Richmond player prevented Hampden-Sydney from taking the penalty quickly, but the delay did not ultimately matter, as Brennan Vaught took the tap kick and offloaded to no. 8 Conor McCabe, who broke three tackles and carried a final defender over the goal line. Ian Fraser's kick was good and the Tigers had taken the lead once again, 19-22.
Injuries and substitutions continued to hurt the Tiger back line and created a significant weakness, especially given Richmond's strong kicking game. The Tiger forwards, especially through dominant set pieces, helped to stymie the Spiders' attempts to capitalize on the relative strength of their back line. In the 64th minute, the Tigers looked as if they might score again, but the Spiders managed to win the ball in the ruck near their goal line. A strong clearance kick into touch in the next phase gave the Tigers a lineout back at midfield, and, although they won the ball cleanly, the Tigers knocked the ball on during the transition from the lineout to the back line. Richmond won their scrum and advanced the ball thirty meters over the next few phases, when a cutting run by the Richmond inside center brought their possession inside ten meters of the Tiger goal line. A high tackle gave the Spiders a penalty, which they immediately took before the Tigers could retreat and set up a legal defensive line, scoring a try in the 69th minute. The conversion kick was good, putting Richmond in the lead once again, 26-22.
The final points of the match came in the 73rd minute. After cleanly taking the restart, the Spiders again turned to their kicking game for territorial advantage. A few phases later, Richmond was again inside the Hampden-Sydney 22m. After taking the ball into touch, Richmond gave Hampden-Sydney a lineout just inside their own 22m. As with the Spiders' second try in the first half, the Tigers failed to win their line and the Spiders' quick attack caught the Tiger defense off guard. Their flanker, who was back 10m from the lineout, took the ball back inside the 22m before being tackled. The Spiders won their ruck quickly and moved the ball wide through a skip pass and two shorter passes into the hands of their outside center. He ran forward and broke the goal line but appeared to lose control of the ball in his attempt to down the ball for the try. The referee originally waved the try off, but the touch judge on that side came onto the field and convinced him to reverse his decision. The conversion kick went wide, but Richmond had expanded its lead to nine, 31-22.
In the final moments of the match, the Tigers had a lineout deep inside the Richmond 22m. They won the lineout and the ensuing ruck, but as the Tiger player was being tackled, instead of going to ground and setting a clean ruck to maintain possession, he threw the ball away toward another Tiger player, who failed to catch it. Richmond recovered the ball, passed it back, and kicked it away for clearance, ending the match. Even if the Tigers had managed to score on that opportunity, it would not have been enough to win the match, but it stands as kind of summary of how this game played out.
