By JOSHUA DeFOUR

Contributing Report

When rugby club president Graham Stevens declared Wayne State University a “rival” in last week’s issue of The Oakland Post, the Warriors apparently didn’t think much of it.

They didn’t bother showing up until a half an hour after the game was scheduled to start at noon.

Despite this late start, it was apparent once the game began that both teams had shown up ready to compete.

Oakland University fell just short of winning their home opener with a hard-fought 34-26 loss, their third in a row.

Forward Matt Reale, despite being sick all week, scored first and second for OU. He felt the effort of his team’s pack was commendable despite the loss. “The pack did an amazing job and produced every time as far as the scrums go. For football fans, that would be like giving the lineman a huge pat on the back.”

Asked whether or not he agreed with Stevens’ previous assessment of the two teams’ rivalry, Head Coach Ben Hockenberry said, “After this game, most definitely.”

The game was never a sure win for either team, and as the game time dwindled it became a series of possession changes.

The deciding factors for Wayne State’s victory was experience and depth, two glaring faults of this still-developing Grizzlies team. “We didn’t come out aggressively in the second half; we didn’t control our lead,” said Hockenberry.

The team has thus far started off slow, succumbing to the usual rugby scrapes and bruises and dealing with the growing pains of a program still in its infancy. “We have been short some guys, we have a lot of new guys, and we’ve been struggling these last few years,” said Stevens.

The Golden Grizzlies will again take the field September 27th at Calvin College.