Central vs UBC 2012 by Maddie Bolduc
Central lost their opening match of the 2012 rugby season 36-0 saturday against the University of British Columbia at Magnuson Park in Seattle. The Wildcats squandered 2 penalty opportunities and failed to execute on 3 additional occasions inside the Thundersbirds 22 meter line in the 1st half. Meanwhile UBC used the slick conditions to their advantage coming away with a first half lead 12-0. The first score of the game came off a UBC scrum after the CWU Fullback was held up two meters in front of the Wildcat goal line, and the second score came off a broken play chip and run which saw the ball bounce through two sets of Wildcat defenders before UBC dotted down for the try.
The second half proved challenging for the Wildcats as the replacement of tight head prop Sam Smith put the Central scrum under pressure and reduced the quality of attacking ball. In the loose Central was able to string together multiple phases of attack but at times looked to be to entrepreneurial in their own half and the mistakes cost them. UBC capitalized on the Wildcat mistakes and was able to score 24 unanswered points in the last 30 minutes of match play.
“The upside to playing a quality opponent your first run out is that you have the opportunity to really measure your self and identify your weaknesses” according to CWU Coach Anthony Pacheco. Central was able to try out 5 new players in the forward pack as well as a new half back and a new 10/12 combination. Central will get their next test vs Oregon State University next Saturday at Noon in Corvallis Oregon followed by a mid-week test vs BYU who finished 2nd in the nation last year on January 27th in Seattle at 1:00pm.
