The Mother's traveled to Annapolis, MD to face the United States Naval Academy in the first round of the CRAA D1A playoffs.
Navy came into the match as the number 1 seed in the east with an 8-1 record. As always, Navy played tough at home and started off quickly. The defensive effort and discipline from the Mother's waivered early allowing Navy to get a 19-0 lead 14 minutes into the match. A major focus for the team going into the playoffs was to ignore the score and focus on the next job. In the ensuing kickoff, Navy was pinned in their own end and committed a few penalties.
One penalty led to a successful penalty kick from 37 m out by Jack Joyce to make the score 19-3. Navy responded quickly and extended the lead to 26-3. Joyce responded with another penalty kick to make the score 26-6. Navy utilized the Mother's discipline issues to march down the pitch again and score under the posts making the score 33-6 at the 26th minute. From there the Mother's defense connected and held Navy scoreless until halftime.
The second half was a very different story from the first. The Mother's defense held Navy scoreless for the first 35 minutes of the second half. In the 53rd minute, a well-executed lineout set saw senior Nick White fend off a few defenders and score from 18 meters out making the score line 33-11. In the 67th minute, the Mother's scrum earned a penalty deep in Navy territory. A quick tap from Freshman Rhys James to freshman Chris Cloete got the Mother's 5 m from the line. Freshman Henry Horton broke through a double tackle from Navy to find an offload to Freshman Cam Halliwell who was stopped just short of the tryline. A Mother's penalty halted the momentum and turned the ball over. Navy scored in the 76th minute to find the final score of 40-11. The second half was equal in tries at 1 per side.
The playoff team for the Mother's consisted of 5 seniors, 1 junior, 7 sophomores and 10 freshman
"Being down 27 at half to a Navy side that prides themselves on finishing better than they start was a tall task going into the locker room at the break," Coach Andrew Spencer said. "I'm so proud of this group to never quit, and keep fighting until the final whistle. We showed some good attack and defense at times but struggled to remain consistent for 80 minutes. Our second half performance gave us inspiration and confidence that we did belong in this playoff race. Our group will grow from this and begin working towards a stronger Rugby East campaign in the fall. I'm very thankful for the 2026 senior class, underclassmen, coaching staff, University and alumni support during my first year with the program."
While the 15s playoff run ended with a first round exit, the second side faces D1AA contender St. Joe's from Philly this Saturday at the battlegrounds at 1 pm in the final 15s contest of the 25-26 academic year.
The 7s team hopes to qualify to compete for a National Championship at the Collegiate Rugby Championships April 24-25 in Boyds, Maryland.
