Kramer Cirineo

It was around this time last year when the Central men’s rugby team had to hang up their uniforms  for the season in the semifinals. As luck would have it, they’re on their way back and ready to finish unfinished business.

The Wildcats faced University of Utah for the second year in a row in the quarterfinals last weekend, having scraped by with a narrow win last year.

After an 18-7 battle in the trenches, Central advances to the Varsity Cup semifinals following this weekend’s taxing win.

Their semifinal match will be against Brigham Young University (BYU) the defending champions of last year’s Varsity Cup. The game will be hosted in Provo, Utah on April 18 where Central is looking for a win to advance to the finals in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Central hasn’t played BYU since 2013, when they met in the semifinals of the same tournament only to be defeated 50-20.

Last weekend against University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), BYU’s All-American junior wing Jordan Lowry scored two tries with an additional five coming from his other teammates. His performance gave BYU unstoppable momentum that eventually shut down UCLA’s defense.

Having momentum going into big games this season has given BYU the upper hand on their opponents all season.

Throughout this year, BYU has completely dominated their matches, as they are still undefeated going into Saturday’s game. In just 12 games this season, BYU has managed to outscore their opponents 814-158.

One of the players to watch is Nic Purcell, who is a 6’7’’, 295lb junior who plays the lock position.

BYU, who has been very successful at scrums all season,  look to continue that run by using their size to overpower and wear down Central’s fast paced offense.

Central junior wing Josh Bower, who is the leading scorer in the GNAC conference, is feeling positive about their match against BYU and knows what needs to happen for a Central win.

“Keeping my communication up for the younger guys so we all know what we are doing and on the same page,” Bower said. “If my defense is right, and my position when they kick the ball to us is right, I’ll have a better opportunity for myself and the team.”

With his mind set on victory and concentrating on what he has to do to help his team, Bower said he is ready to take on BYU.

This weekend’s game is a much-anticipated match for the team with a lot riding on the line.

With the season wrapped up and the playoffs coming down to the wire, Central is preparing for their biggest game of the season.

“We are pretty banged up at the moment,” head coach Tony Pacheco said. “We are trying to stay healthy since it was a very physical match-up on Saturday.”

Despite the importance of the game and having not played BYU this season, Pacheco said he isn’t changing the game-plan. Instead vying to stick to what Central does best.

“We think BYU’s style of play suits our style of play a little more than Utah does,” Pacheco said. “As far as match up goes, they want to play in space a lot more than Utah does and that is our area of the game. Attacking the contest, our ability over the ball, and isolating their single runners will give us a good shot.”