Day One:
The Premier team had tough matchups v IUP (0-35), Fordham (7-29), and St Bonaventure A (0-50), but they came out of the day with a better understanding of playing Division I rugby. The speed of the breakdown and the pace of play was awesome to see as our men got better each match.
The Open team took a few lumps as well with tough losses against University of Pittsburgh (0-30), University of Maryland in Baltimore County (0-30), and West Chester University (0-35). However, our younger players gained significant experience which will help build our depth as we continue building a competitive training environment.

Day Two:
We were able to bring up a few of our Open Division players to bolster or Premier side making them a full side of 12. In the first match of the day, our men took on Rutgers University and began implementing a more structured and physical brand of rugby (NU RUGBY!!!!!). Possession was key, but the Purple Eagles struggled getting the ball over the try line with losing a couple possessions in the green zone. At the final whistle, the Purple Eagles were taken down at the death with 5-10 loss.

The final match of the day was against Curry College and the men were excited for another opportunity. This was demonstrated with 7 strong minutes taking a lead of 10-5 going into the half. With high hopes, the second kicked off and the Purple Eagles began pressing defensively. Gaining possession early gave the men a chance to extend their lead, but the last pass was unable to go to hand and Curry College was able to take advantage. Breaking 4 tackles on the counter-attack Curry was able to dot down a try in the corner and then converted the tough kick. The Purple Eagles would receive the kick-off and started putting phases together allow the forwards to be physical which opened up space for the backs. Unfortunately, it was not to be as the final whistle blew with the Purple Eagles losing 10-12.

Overall our men put in one hell of a shift over the weekend with 19 players getting max playing time throughout the tournament. With plenty of film and a better appreciation of the differences between 15s and 7s, our men's team will be back to work this week with an eye of winning the 2nd Annual Lt Col Crowe 7s Tournament at Niagara University on Sunday, April 6th.

Stay tuned for more coming up about our home tournament, Alumni Weekend 2025, and do not forget to get your NU Rugby gear at our team store. To do so, visit our Team Store by using this link: https://deefortsports.com/club-shops/210/.