The University of Mary Washington women's rugby team hosted William & Mary on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026. Rainy conditions made for a tough and chilly rugby match.  

Possession toggled back and forth between UMW and William & Mary in the first half. With a wet ball, the ball was knocked on by both teams occasionally. The Eagles forced multiple turnovers. William & Mary presented an attacking structure with their forwards taking the ball immediately into contact that allowed them to gain meters. Around the 25th minute, a penalty awarded to William & Mary gave them the opportunity to implement their attack. A Tribe forward took advantage of UMW's defense not covering adequately off the fringe of the ruck and touched down less than a meter out. This initial try by William & Mary was converted. The Eagles and William & Mary continued to battle for the rest of the half. Both teams did not let up, which left William & Mary in the lead at half, 7 – 0 UMW. 

The Eagles were awarded a couple of penalties at the start of the second half. Despite this, possession continued to toggle back and forth between both teams. 11 minutes into the second half, an advantage was awarded to UMW due to a high tackle from William & Mary. UMW's Jo Lent quickly read the ref's signal, tapped the ball off her foot, and ran in to score five meters out. It was a tough conversion to make as the ball was touched down on the far right of the pitch. The conversion kick was not made. The Eagles had lots of possession in the minutes that followed. A knocked-on ball by Mary Washington gave possession back to Tribe off a scrum. William & Mary continued their similar pattern of attack with forwards crashing the ball into contact which led to another try by them. Their second try was not converted.

William & Mary came out in a similar fashion in the minutes that followed. UMW was losing momentum on defense. Four minutes after Tribe's second score of the game, they touched down again with their forwards' attack. They did not convert their third try. The remaining fifteen minutes of the match had back and forth possession between both teams. William & Mary ran the ball to the touch line to end the match.

Stay tuned on this website's schedule, our Instagram: @umwrugby, and our Facebook page: Mary Washington Women's Rugby, for updates on post-regular season information.