Moon, PA- Despite the less than ideal weather at Joe Walton Stadium, the home crowd's spirits were flying high. Men's Rugby is headed to the Three Rivers Rugby Conference Finals for the 7th straight season after their victory over Slippery Rock. Slippery Rock entered as the 3 seed against 2nd seeded Robert Morris. RMU defeated them 50-17 in the regular season, and their playoff victory looked incredibly similar. The Domers won 41-12 over the Shamrocks and punched their ticket to the finals thanks to Man of the Match Zach Hoge, who recorded 2 tries in the contest. 

The sloppy weather conditions made it a defensive battle to begin with. It was not till the 15th minute of action RMU broke through to score the first try of the game. The Domers expanded their 5-0 lead into a 12-0 lead when a beautiful penalty play to double up their lead, and then added the conversion this time around. Right before the half, RMU struck again to take a commanding 19-0 lead into the break. 

When they returned, the offense kept coming for the Domers. The Shamrocks would get on the board early in the second to make it 19-7, but it wouldn't be long after RMU would be back on the board to make it a 24-7 ballgame. SRU would make it 24-12 but that's the last they would see of the try zone for the night. The Domers added two late tries to cement the game and move on to take on rival Franciscan in the finals. 

Franciscan College was the only team to defeat the Domers in the regular season. The Domers enter this final match of the season with a 7-1 combined regular season and playoff record, and Franciscan enters at 8-0. Over the better part of the decade, these two teams have been the class of the conference. This will be the 7th straight season the Three Rivers Rugby Championship Game will be between Robert Morris and Franciscan. The game will be held at Phillip Murray Field, and winner of this game will be conference champion and will move on to Regionals in Columbia, MO. 

Alexander Gagnon '21
Club Sport Information Director