It’s been a long three weeks for the ASU men’s rugby team, as they have had trouble finding success on the field. However, they will get a chance to get back on the right track as they make their return to Tempe this weekend against the Colorado State Rams.
The Sun Devils return home comes at the right time, as they are currently fighting through a three-game, injury-filled losing streak.
Meanwhile, the Rams currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference with just one point.
“We’ve just been getting a lot of bad breaks and not really playing to our potential, but we’re hoping to change that this weekend,” ASU sophomore Adam Sandstrom said.
Colorado State comes into town having yet to notch a victory in conference play. It has suffered some lopsided losses in the 2012 season, including a 97–5 loss at the hands of the BYU Cougars.
A loss to the Rams would be a huge blow to the Sun Devils, but the team still feels comfortable heading into its second-to-last regular season game of the year.
“As long as we play a pretty solid day on offense, just retaining the ball and not doing anything stupid, and as long as we play just solid defense, we should be fine,” Sandstrom said.
Over the past few weeks, the total number of healthy players on the roster has shrunk because of injuries. The team, which originally had 23 available players, was reduced to 18. But now, as the Sun Devils return home, the team will get some of its players back for the Saturday matchup with the Rams.
“We’re getting a couple of the players back this week,” coach Gary Lane said. “Adam was at the national team camp, and we’ve also got a couple other players coming back with experience as well.”
Considering its current position in the Western Conference — along with the number of regular season games remaining — the men’s rugby squad will miss out on a chance at a national title for another year. The team will push its focus to putting together a stronger team next year.
“Its key to just keep developing,” Lane said. “Our defensive structure against UA was really quite good, but you can’t expect young players without a lot of experience to play against players with a lot of experience. What we want to do is refine our game plan to our strengths.”
The Sun Devils will face the Rams on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Soccer Stadium.
Reach the reporter at talopez3@asu.edu
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