The University of Mary Washington men's rugby team took down St. Thomas University (Fl.) in the Battle of Cowpens Bowl game for the CRAA (Collegiate Rugby Association of America) Fall Classic event, 24-18.
The match started with some penalty trouble for the Mother's which led to St. Thomas taking an early 7-0 lead.
The team responded with a great penalty kick to touch from
Ronan Foley followed by a successful lineout maul try from the Mother's lineout with
Theo Collins eventually scoring the try. Foley added the conversion to tie the match at 7-7.
Soon after that Calum Emmans broke the defensive line, carried well and had a nice draw and pass to
Thomas Howard who finished the try 25 meters out. Foley again added the conversion to make it 14-7 UMW.
St. Thomas responded with a try to make it 14-12. Just before halftime another penalty against UMW led St. Thomas to convert a successful penalty kick at goal to end the half up 15-14.
In the second half St. Thomas struck first with another penalty kick to make the scoreline 18-14.
The Mother's battled back and got into the red zone where St. Thomas committed a penalty in front of the posts. Foley slotted the penalty kick to make the score 18-17 in favor of the bobcats.
After an unsuccessful lineout in the red zone, the Mother's defense held strong to force a kick from St. Thomas. The ball was fielded by captain
William Lindsay who broke the line for 20 meters. After some smooth ball movement,
Jayden Osborn broke the line for another 20 meters.
Rhys James,
Muzi Chirwa, Douglas Moscrop,
Ryan Coupland, Nicholas White,
Huntsman Greaves,
Tian Pretorius and Osborn took hard carries to chip away at the try line. This patience and physicality in attack eventually earned a penalty advantage. With advantage, James quickly played the ball to Emmans who finished the try putting the Mother's back in the lead. Foley added the conversion to make the score 24-18.
With 15 minutes remaining and a one score match the defense needed to be strong. St. Thomas had a massive line break from their own end which led to a try saving ankle tap tackle by
Yann Aubert. The bobcats still had possession when White and Emmans combined for a double tackle and Emmans stripped the ball away in the Mother's defensive end. Osborn jumped on the loose ball to regain possession. Foley attempted to clear the ball with a nice kick but it remained in play which led to another line break for the bobcats. This time another try saving tackle from Osborn and an earned penalty against the bobcats by Lindsay saved UMW's lead.
After regaining possession, UMW gave away another penalty in the midfield with time expiring. After a successful lineout from the bobcats, the Mother's defense held strong for 15 phases of play, tackle after tackle just meters from the try line. The bobcats turned the ball over with a knock on - ending the match 24-18.
The Mother's 1st side finished the fall season 4-4 and the 2nd side finished 2-3.
The Mother's 1st and 2nd team open the spring campaign vs #4 Lindenwood University on February 21st, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
