Blacksburg Rugby

Blacksburg opened its account in the 2009 Virginia Rugby Union Senior Men's Division III competition with a generally convincing 43-0 win over Newport News at home today.

Although an early windfall of tries put Blacksburg in charge of the scoreline in the first half, Newport News offered bruising competition and kept the Blacksburg players pinned on their own line several times. Newport News laid big hits and hard runs, but fortunately for Blacksburg the visitors had more trouble than the home side when it came to turning strong play into points.

Blacksburg showed a few rusty spots throughout the match and slowed their scoring production a bit in the second stanza, but the overall result was a well-rounded performance that made good use of all 22 nominated players. Fullback Noah Thrope, fresh off a springtime stint with the world-famous Randwick District Rugby Union Football Club, was named man of the match by coaches Chuck Rockwell and Scott Tison for a strong individual performance that featured some long try-scoring gallops.

Blacksburg thanks Newport News for making the long trip and providing an intense physical encounter and wishes the club great results in its remaining season matches. Meanwhile, another home match awaits Blacksburg next week when nearby rivals Roanoke come to visit.