ELLENSBURG, Wash.—A Top 10 men's rugby showdown comes to town on Saturday when No. 7 Central Washington hosts No. 6 BYU at Tomlinson Stadium. Kickoff is set for high noon.
Saturday's fixture is the first of four consecutive outings for the Wildcats against Top 25 opponents, with Arizona, St. Mary's and Cal following the Cougars.
THE MATCHUP
The Wildcats (4-0) have not only opened the season with four straight wins, but Central has also pitched shutouts in each of its last two matches in victories over Trinity Western (24-0) and Washington (88-0). Central also has wins this season against Seattle Rugby Club (26-24) and Western Washington (46-3).
In last week's defeat of Washington,
Jonah Auvaa and
Lewis Bonjean each scored three trys as six different players scored for the Wildcats.
BYU (6-1) enters Saturday's affair coming off a 39-28 loss at No. 1 St, Mary's, a future CWU opponent. The St. Mary's fixture was BYU's first since last October.
SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Cougars have met nine times since rugby became a varsity sport at Central. BYU owns a 7-1-1 lead in the all-time series. Central's only win in the series came the last time these teams met in Ellensburg, when the Wildcats with a 51-7 win on Feb. 29, 2020.
In their last meeting, the Cougars and Wildcats played to a draw (27-27) in Provo, Utah on March 20, 2021.
QUOTING CWU HEAD COACH TODD THORNLEY
"This fixture against BYU is invaluable for us as it will be our entire game both individually and collectively under an immense amount of pressure. They are a very strong team and have put together some very good performances so far this year. BYU will give our relatively young group something we have not experienced so far this year- physicality. We know they will come out hard at us and I cannot wait to see how we respond to the adversity the game will bring. With only seven guys out of our 23 having tasted success against BYU last time here at Tomlinson in 2020, we will rely heavily on their experience and game management. We have some hungry young student-athletes ready to get a taste of top-level collegiate rugby and we cannot wait for a great spectacle come Saturday".
