SMRC D3 Squad Falls to Oxy in Season Opener

Santa Monica Rugby Men started the season against the Oxy old boys in a D3 match on Saturday. The squad was a mixture of players, from old boys to new, some playing in their first regular season game. Oxy came out ready to play and quickly took the ball inside the 22. The boys woke up and played tough goal line defense for 10 minutes until Oxy scored a converted try. The Dolphins quickly came back with prop Mike Rimero crashing the ball across the gain line offloading to No. 8 Matt Perkins for the first try of the season. 3 minutes later, outside center Peter Tulanely crashed the ball midfield, only to be stopped by a forward close to the goal line. Flanker Cam Maloni took advantage of an unready Oxy side on a penalty for the second try. Tulanely’s drop kick conversion was good. Once again Oxy pushed inside the 22, but center Bryan Lascala kicked the ball to midfield after a turnover. Rimero hustled downfield, and stripped the ball while making a tackle and raced to score a try.

Oxy, sadly, was far from finished, scoring another try after the Dolphins were unable to score at the end of a hard run by Tulanely. SMRC kept their heads up and marched downfield where scrum half Alex Rylance kicked a penalty for the finally play of the half. Starting the second half up 20-14, SMRC came out flat, allowing Oxy to expose weakness in the defense. Skipper Brian Dargon playing lock, lead the team chasing players down making numerous tackles, but SMRC could not stop Oxy’s former Eagles 7s player on the way to 27 unanswered points. The final score of the match was 20-41, and although the score does not reflect it, the D3 side is very skilled and will compete in its first year of play in the division.