Wheeling, W. Va. - It has been nearly a month and a half since the Wheeling University Rugby team (6-2-1) has hit the pitch when they ended their regular season on October 24th when they played 10s against Alderson Broaddus. Now, they make a return to 15s with a title on the line as they compete in the inaugural National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Rhino Rugby Bowl on Saturday in Houston, Texas. The Cardinals are set to take on Iowa Central Community College at AVEVA Stadium, home of Major League Rugby's (MLR) Houston SaberCats.
For many of Wheeling's athletes, this will be their first time getting to play in a professional Rugby stadium, as they look to keep their success from the season going. Offense and speed have been two of the big parts of Wheeling's success, and they use both of those to their advantage. They are averaging 39.3 points per game this season, as they are able to go point for point with many opponents. Leading the scoring this season has been freshman Tinomukudza Chipfumbu and sophomores Ayoub Jalli and Mohammed Haddar. Haddar got the year started off strong with six tries in his first three games, and Jalli and Chipfumbu have each been consistent weapons for the team.
With a potent offense on their side, the Wheeling defense has been able to relax and just play their game, and that has led to success for the team. As a defense, Wheeling is giving up just 11.7 points per game, giving Wheeling a point differential of 27.6 points per game. The most points they allowed in a single contest this season came against Army when they fell 31-14. That game helped them grow as a defensive unit, and continue to get better as the season went on.
Wheeling and Iowa Central Community College have played two common opponents this season in Army and Davenport. Both teams fell to Army in their games, with Wheeling falling 31-14 and the Titrons falling 41-12, but against Davenport they had different results. Iowa Central ended up falling to Davenport 55-31, with a slow start leading to their downfall. However, Wheeling battled hard against the DIA opponent, and finished with a 29-29 tie in that match-up.
Wheeling head Rugby coach Mike Geibel is looking forward to the match-up with the defending DIAA champions from 2019, and says this will be a great matchup for the program.
"We've worked really hard to perfect the systems and processes that we have in place and its going to be a good matchup," said Geibel. "Iowa Central is a very strong team, they are actually the defending DI AA champions from before COVID. We just really want to build on what we've been doing, play our game, and hopefully come out with a win."
The Matchup
Saturday's NCR Rhino Rugby bowl will be the first ever matchup between Iowa Central and Wheeling University. It is the first time that Wheeling is appearing in a NCR Bowl Game and an opportuntiy for them to write their names in the history books. Their last appearance in the NCR Nationals came in May of 2021 when they finished seventh in the field. They played five games in that tournament, and went 4-1, winning the seventh-place game over the University of Denver 19-14.
In that game, Wheeling entered halftime down 14-0 and needed some quick offense as they moved to the second half. They would get that from former Cardinal Brian Gannon, who scored a pair of second half tries to help lift Wheeling to a 19-14 victory and a seventh-place finish in the tournament.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's NCR Rhino Rugby Bowl is scheduled for 1 PM est/12 PM ct. At AVEVA Stadium in Houston, Texas. A live stream of the game will be available.
