To get more information about the camp, head over to Serevi Rugby. To register for the camp at UVU, head over to the Training Camp Registration page and click on Utah Valley University on the right hand side of the page.

As the team looks to build on it’s Utah Championship win from a season ago, the team wanted to take the steps necessary to advance to the next level and creating a paid position through the university is a big step in doing that.

“Our progress has become stagnant over the past few years and we wanted to make some changes to get the program headed back in the direction that we desired.” said team manager Bill Ungricht. “This position with the school gives us the opportunity to create a solid platform at the top of our program and create the stability to mold the incredibly talented athletes that we have joining the program for the upcoming season.”

For more information about the position and to apply, check out the posting on the Utah Valley University Job Board.

View Job Posting

Here are a few pics from the match. Special thanks to Taneisha Jensen for coming along on the trip and taking these pics for us.

In a back and forth game, both teams were able to score 4 tries, but Utah Valley were able to kick their way to victory and secure their third title in the last four years. Though not as convincing as the previous days effort, the UV team were still thrilled with the victory and the opportunity to host the Pacific Coast Playoffs in the next round of the National Collegiate Playoffs.

Utah Valley started the game much the same as the had the day before against Boise State, perhaps a little nervous about the game ahead and it opened the door for Idaho State to make an impression on the match early. But as the side began to settle into the match, they began to control the breakdown and the match.

Ball retention had proved to be the key for Utah Valley’s attacking prowess in previous matches and the job done to secure the rucks by a very mobile UV forward pack was soon paying dividends. After controlling possession for 8 phases in the Idaho State 22, fly half Malakai Tuakimoana spotted a gap to the right side and was able to take the ball off the back of the ruck and sneak over for the try. A Joe Carnation conversion made it a 7-0 lead.

But the Idaho State team were not willing to back down from a challenge and struck back with a try of their own within 5 minutes. A slick backline move just outside Utah Valley’s 22 put their outside center into space and he then proceeded to make 4 would be tacklers miss in strolling down the right hand touchline for the try. An unsuccessful conversion kept UVU in the lead by two.

This sparked the Wolverine side to life again. Not content to play in their own half, the Utah Valley side began to move the ball downfield and committed defense and sustained pressure at the rucks brought more possession at the right end of the field for UVU. Controlling their own lineout ball, the Utah Valley forwards tried to rumble the ball to the line from about 12 meters out. After getting close to the line several times and being held out by some stout Idaho State defense, Tuakimoana stepped in to pick off the back of the ruck and found more space on the fringes to score his second of the match. With the conversion, UVU were out to a 14-5 lead.

Utah Valley began to secure more possession and more territory and were able to keep the pressure on ISU. After two missed penalty attempts from UVU, another long drive, this one 12 phases, found lock Trevor Matthews on the receiving end of a short pop pass and another try for Utah Valley. The conversion was missed and the scored remained 19-5 at half time.

However the drinks and oranges didn’t seem too beneficial to the Utah Valley boys as the Idaho State side came out and began to get into their own groove and score the next two tries. A well placed touch finder moved ISU deep into UV territory and a lineout steal gave the back-line enough time to get it to their number 13 to crash over for a double. Their third try of the day was much the same, quick ball through the back-line found the fullback inserting and beating the defense on the outside to score. The conversion attempt was good and all of a sudden it was a two point game again, 19-17.

The game got a bit hectic at that point as both sides realized the game was there for the taking. ISU was content to kick the ball deep and make the Wolverines play in their own end of the field. UVU were able to retain for 7 or 8 phases and advance the ball before handling errors would let them down. The turning point of the match came with 15 minutes left when a penalty to UVU was marched forward 10 meters after and Idaho State player talked back to the ref. Kicker Joe Carnations penalty attempt from about 37 meters out sailed wide to the left, but was knocked on in goal by an ISU player. Utah Valley managed to secure their own ball from the ensuing 5 meter scrum and two phases later lock Loren Willes crashed over for the teams’ fourth try. Carnation was able to shake off his miss from moments earlier and slot a difficult conversion from 5 inside the left touchline and put Utah Valley ahead, 26-17.

Idaho State were not finished though, another great kick finding touch inside the Utah Valley 5 meter line. Messy ball off the top by the UV forwards opened the door for the Idaho State hooker to pounce through from the front of the lineout and dive on the loose ball for the try. Another missed conversion left the score at 26-22 with 5 minutes remaining.

Utah Valley were able to secure the ball after some committed work on defense along the left touchline and continued up the field until they were awarded another penalty. Carnation, after having his ups and downs throughout the weekend, coolly steeped up and slotted the 35 meter penalty and sealed the victory for Utah Valley.

The team now looks ahead to the first weekend of April when they will host the Pacific Coast Playoffs at their home field in Orem, Utah. Utah Valley’s first game will come against Sierra College after they secured the second seeding from the Northern California division for the tournament. The first seed from Northern California, Cal Maritime, will face the winner of the Pacific Northwest Union playoffs in the semi-final. The winners of each of those respective matches will both earn a place in the National Collegiate Playoffs round of 16 and will playoff to finalize seeding’s and determine the Pacific Coast Rugby Union Division II Champion.

Utah Valley University		Idaho State University
M. Tuakimoana 2, T. Matthews, L. Willes	Tries	ISU Outside Center 2, ISU Fullback, ISU Hooker
J. Carnation 3 of 4	Conversions	1 of 3
J. Carnation 1 of 3	Penalties

Here are a few pics from the match. Special thanks to Taneisha Jensen for coming along on the trip and taking these pics for us.

The 12 try to none victory was the Wolverines biggest win of the season, eclipsing the 50 point mark for the second time in 5 days. Outside center Johnny Schumacher led the way with a personal tally of four tries and a hand in setting up two others in what was a busy day for the Utah Valley backs, crossing for all but two of the 12 tries.

It took the UV side a while to warm up in this match, the enterprising play of the Boise State side a big part of that. They dominated possession throughout the opening exchanges, strong runs of the fringes of rucks and a big defensive effort rattling the boys from Orem a little and creating errors when they were able to get their hands on the ball.

But after holding steady for the opening facet of play, the Utah Valley side capitalized on a dominant performance at the breakdown to create their first try. Turnover ball at the ruck saw a skip pass to Schumacher and all he had to do was draw the last defender and wing Clarence Matuauto was over for his first try as a Wolverine.

Clarence Matuauto breaks up the sideline vs Boise State

The Utah Valley forwards began flexing their muscle up front and the solid platform created plenty of time and space for the Utah Valley backline to run at will. A quick tap penalty by fly half Malakai Tuakimoana found 8 man Mo Mitani at pace close to the line and UVU had their second. A perfectly weighted chip kick bounced just right for inside center Josh Pukahi and the score was 15-0 in the blink of an eye. A devastating scrum saw the Boise State side pushed off their own ball 5 meters from their goal line and the big UV pack walked over for another score. The backs had the last say of the half though, Tuakimoana showing great power and a mesmerizing step to score from halfway before Schumacher used a perfect line to cap a 15 phase possession and send the Utah Valley side into the shed with a handy 34-0 lead.

The second half proved to be much of the same and quick ruck ball continued to find the center pairing of Pukahi and Schumacher running straightening angles back against the grain of the defense. Schumacher had a pair sandwiched around a Pukahi try, all of them in similar fashion. As the coaches began to clear the benches, the UV side didn’t let up Schumacher grabbing his last after recovering his own chip and getting a very fortuitous bounce that was completely misjudged by the Boise fullback. Another tight head scrum win saw quick ball out to the blindside and Tuakimoana had his second of the day before another Schumacher chip found replacement wing Jameson Bangerter all alone on the right touch line and Utah Valley’s final try of the day.

Utah Valley Lineout vs Boise State

Kicker Joe Carnation had a somewhat difficult day, converting only 5 of his 12 attempts, but the breezy conditions would have given many a kicker a tough time. His all-around effort around the park more than made up for the off day though and it was plain to see the prop’s leadership all over the paddock.

Head Coach Sam George was obviously happy with the side’s performance, but like all good coaches, found plenty to work on for UVU’s match the next day. “We came out today to make a point and I think we certainly achieved that. The forward effort today was really pleasing and you could see the platform that they were creating was giving the backs front foot ball and the opportunity to do what backs do and finish. If we can turn-around and put together another game like this tomorrow, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Utah Valley now faces Idaho State in the Utah Rugby Union Championship game at 12pm on Saturday the 19th in Boise after the Idaho State side beat a determined Snow College side in the days other semifinal.

A big thank you goes out to Jackie Johnson-Meigs for taking all these photos for us.

UVU showed they were well prepared for the elimination game, coming out strongly from the kickoff and scored their opening try in the 4th minute. The Wolverines had another 3 tries in the first 15 minutes of the match, fly half Molo Tuakimoana and flanker Robert “RJ” Jenny featuring prominently in all of the first quarter tries.

Head coach Sam George made the most of an experienced bench and started ringing the changes shortly after the team scored their fourth try. The looming back-to-back playoff games in Boise this weekend obviously playing on his mind as he opted to rest key players early on and give some of the lesser experienced players a chance to make an impression before the business end of the season begins.

But with the slew of changes also came a change of tempo and Dixie began to string together phases and build some momentum. Each advance down the field was ultimately met by Utah Valley’s loose forwards, who showed great speed to the breakdown all day and managed to force a multitude of turnovers at the rucks and creating plenty of opportunities to play with the ball in hand.

UVU managed to withstand the pressure applied by Dixie and were able to capitalize one last time before the half, a short pass from center Josh Pukahi found lock Trevor Matthews running a great angle and slicing through the defense to score under the posts. The score at halftime had UVU ahead, 33-0.

The break did little to slow down the Wolverine side, reserve prop Tim Katoa crashing over from 5m out within 3 minutes of the resumption of play. Another quick strike 4 minutes later saw flanker Matt Lefrandt run through untouched from a well taken quick tap by Molo Tuakimoana.

Centre Johnny Schumacher pounced on a misplaced pass shortly after and was able to return the interception for a try under the uprights. His ensuing conversion pushed the score out to 50-0. Fatigue began to set in for the Wolverine squad and Dixie was quick to take advantage of the UV side’s ill-discipline. Not retreating the required 10 metres on numerous penalties saw Dixie marched 40m towards the UVU line before finally converting their continued pressure by swinging the ball wide and scoring a well worked try.

The Dixie score seemed to spark the UVU team to life and resulted in them being able to string together their best movements of the match. A clean lineout take provided a solid platform and the UV backline swept from right to left across the field and scored an impressive team try, each member of the backline handling the ball in the movement.

The UV team slowed drastically from that point, one more try to replacement hooker Viliami Fonohema completing the scoring for UV with twelve minutes left to play in the game.

Despite the Dixie try in the second half, head coach Sam George was happy with the improved tackling effort in the second half and was satisfied with the overall performance for the day. “Obviously it’s hard not to have your mind on the upcoming games, seeing as how close they are. But the boys came out and took care of business today. It was good to get some of the reserve guys a run as well, they are going to be really important to the team if we want to make any kind of run in the playoffs.”

The Utah Valley side will now take on the Boise State team in the semi- finals of the Utah Rugby Union Playoffs this Friday in Boise. Idaho State will square off against defending champions Snow College in the second of Friday’s matches. The winners of their respective matches will meet at 12pm on Saturday play for the Utah Rugby Union Championship and the union’s playoff spot in the upcoming Pacific Coast Playoffs.

The schedule is about 80% completed so far, with the scheduling of the Utah Rugby Union Division II playoffs still to be announced, but Utah Valley’s schedule so far would rival many Division I programs for intensity, let alone those in Division II. The team begins their season in just under two weeks when they compete in the RedRock Tournament, which is moving to Mesquite, Nevada this year after spending several years in St. George, Utah.

The Utah Valley team will then face an incredibly tough schedule at the Las Vegas Invitational with organizers putting the plucky Division II team up against College Premier teams Air Force, Arizona and Delaware and Division I team Northern Colorado. The four games in three days will no doubt be tough, but Utah Valley’s Head Coach Josh Cooper is looking forward to the challenge. “Obviously it’s going to be a huge ask for the boys to play such accomplished programs in consecutive days, but we need to play these teams if we want to improve and challenge for a Division II title.”

“We wanted the four games so that we could get some game time for our B team as well, a schedule like this means it’s going to be a sharp learning curve for some of the squad. Player rotation is going to have to come into it at some point to help my young guys out and to also not let the score line get out of hand.”

After the tough weekend in the desert, it doesn’t get any easier for the Utah Valley team with more College Premier League teams on the books. The 19th of February will see Utah Valley playing host to in state rivals Utah, while the next weekend sees the team head across town to take on BYU. If that wasn’t enough, the wolverines will then make the trip to Salt Lake City a fortnight later and play Utah again.

After these quality warm up games comes the business end of the season for Utah Valley with the Utah Rugby Union Division II playoffs and then, all things going well, the Pacific Coast and National Playoffs. Squeezed in between playoff rounds will be a visit from Western State College of Colorado on the 9th of April. The two sides have never met before. The season goal still remains the Division II National Championship on the 1st of May, and the Utah Valley side hopes that this challenging schedule will help make the difference in the team getting there and coming home victorious.

“We have one goal that we’re working toward and we’re going with the mantra that you have to play the best to be the best. We’ll see how it works out come May 1st.”

Tell us what you think about the video, and what you would like to see the team get up to next.