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Old foes in new clothes are coming to town Saturday.

For one club, it’s their first big test of the season. For the other, payback is on their mind

St. Bonaventure’s nationally ranked women’s and men’s rugby teams square off with their counterparts from Walsh University Saturday at SBU’s Marra Athletics Fields Complex.

The women, ranked No. 5 in the latest National Collegiate Rugby Division I poll, play No. 7  Walsh at 10 a.m. The 4^th-ranked Bonaventure men play 6^th-ranked Walsh at noon.

A year ago, Walsh didn’t have any rugby teams, but when nearby Notre Dame College closed its doors this spring, almost all of the men and more than a dozen women transferred to Walsh. A rugby program was born overnight.

Notre Dame College defeated the Bonaventure men in last fall’s NCR national title game in Houston, while the Notre Dame women lost to Michigan in the national title game.

The SBU women won the small-college national title game last December in Houston, triggering the move to Division I this season to elevate the stature of the program. So far, the transition has proved to be not much of a challenge — the Bonnies have won their first three games by a combined score of 318-0.

Their first two games were against Division II opponents (Cornell and UB) in an attempt to ease into their new level of competition, but even their first D-I game vs. Kent State last Saturday on Family Weekend was a rout: 107-0.

“It’s hard to say because (Walsh) didn’t inherit all of Notre Dame’s players, but this should be our toughest game so far,” said Meredith Pyke, the Bonnies’ third-year coach. “I just keep telling the girls, we can only control what we control. We should always assume our next game is going to be tougher.”

Walsh is 3-0 and has defeated Ohio State, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh by a combined score of 106-31.

Building insurmountable halftime leads could be a challenge, but Pyke is pleased that her players have remain focused during lopsided second halves, even as she liberally rotates players to gain them valuable playing experience.

“They do a really good job of not getting complacent and staying active and engaged, which I appreciate,” Pyke said. “That’s the best preparation we can do as we start getting into some of our tougher games at the end of the season.”

After Saturday, the Bonnies close out the regular season with road games at Ohio State (Oct. 19) and Pittsburgh (Nov. 2).

The Bonaventure men evened their record at 1-1 on Family Weekend with a solid 31-17 win over Penn State, the school they defeated for the national title in 2021.

“We showed a lot more of what we’re capable of than we did against Navy in our first game,” said Danny Neighbour, the Bonnies coach. “We were better with ball retention and building phases so we were playing on the front foot. I expect more of that this week.”

Neighbour also expects his club won’t need much motivation Saturday. Avenging their 35-10 title game loss to Notre Dame (now Walsh) is clearly on the minds of his players.

“That one really stung, and the boys have talked about it ever since. They are super hungry after that loss,” Neighbour said. “This is definitely a massive game for them, kind of a payback game where they can prove to themselves and to Walsh that they're not an easy pushover.”

The 2023 title game was delayed more than 2 hours by thunder and lightning, and by the time the game started, the Bonnies ended up playing the first half into the teeth of wind-driven rain and couldn’t generate any offense.

SBU had won the coin toss 3 hours earlier when conditions were docile. By the time the second half started, the weather calmed down and the Bonnies lost the weather advantage Notre Dame had in the first half.

“It was just insane. I've honestly never experienced anything quite like that game,” Neighbour said. “The loss was partly due to us, but the weather definitely had an effect on the outcome. We played them tough in the regular season” — a 28-19 loss that the Bonnies led with 10 minutes to go — “so we knew we were better than the title game showed.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, 51���� is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).

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