Wheeling, W. Va. - After earning one of the Atlantic Rugby Conference's (ARC) Automatic Qualifying bids last week, the Wheeling University Men's Rugby team (4-3-1, 1-3-1) kicks off their run in the 2025 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 15's D1 National Playoffs. They kick things off with a trip to Hanover, New Hampshire as they battle Dartmouth with kick-off at noon. The Cardinals made it to the National Semifinal game last season and are chasing down their first-ever 15's National Championship in program history.
Last time out, the Cardinals competed in the ARC 5th place match against Kutztown, with an automatic qualifier to the National playoffs on the line. The Cardinal offense got started early and often, getting across the try line four times in the opening half. Their first came at the 10 minute mark, and they built a 14-0 lead before Kutztown would get on the board. Wheeling continued the push into halftime, adding two more scores and they would go into halftime with the road sitting at 28-7. As they came out of the half, the Cardinals began making a push, getting on the board for two penalty kicks, a try, and a conversion kick. They would get as close as 35-23 with 10 minutes to play, but the Cardinals would end up slamming the door. With five minutes left, the Cardinals would get across the try line and would pick up the 42-23 win to earn the automatic bid.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Taku Musingiwini, who continued his success in the kicking game for the Cardinals. He would finish 5-5 on conversions during the day, and finished with 10 points in the effort. It continued what had been a strong kicking season fro the junior flyhalf, moving his conversion kick percentage to 19-24 (79.2%) for the season. He has proven himself as one of the top kickers in the nation across Wheeling Men's Rugby, and has kept that success going in penalty kicks as well. He sits 12-14 on penalty kicks on the season, hitting each of his last four penalty kick opportunities. He is the Cardinal's leader with 74 points this season, and heads into the tournament stretch looking to keep that success going.
As they enter the playoff stretch, the Cardinals have two players on track to make history in single-season scoring. The first is Alex Nyamunda, who has already tied the single-season try record with his 12th in the win over Kutztown. His next try will break the single-season record, adding to his stat sheet that has already seen him break the career tries record during 15's season. Nyamunda has tied former Cardinal Dante Walters for the single-season record and will look to push the ball across the line. Sitting right behind him is Panashe Mugorogodi, who scored the Cardinal's second try of the day against Kutztown. He is sitting at 11 tries for the season, totaling 55 points and is just one off Nyamunda and Walter's single-season pace. He made his return from injury last week and looks to build off his momentum.
The Cardinals enter the NCR DI 15's National Championship playoff bracket on the west side, paired up with Dartmouth. The winner will go on to face fellow ARC rival Queens University of Charlotte in the Quarterfinals next weekend. Joining the Cardinals on the west side of the bracket are Notre Dame, Thomas More, and Belmont Abbey, with the Saints and Knights meeting in the other play-in round game this weekend. The tournament will be set up on a week-by-week basis, with the play-in games being played this weekend, followed by quarterfinals November 22nd, and Semifinals December 6th. The 2025 NCR DI 15's National Championship will be played on Saturday, December 13th in Houston, Texas. The Cardinals finished in the semifinal round last year and will be looking to advance to the National title game for the first time in program history.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Big Green are meeting for the second time in program history, with Dartmouth leading the all-time series at 1-0. However, their only previous match-up has come in 7's play and Saturday will mark their first-ever 15's match-up. It is also the first time since the 2014-2015 7's season that the two teams have met up, with Wheeling averaging 17.0 points per game in the all-time match-up.
Their last meeting came on February 13th, 2015 in a match that the Big Green would win 19-17. The two teams met in Las Vegas, Nevada in tournament play, and it would come down to the final seconds of play. The Cardinals are looking to avenge that loss and get back on the right track as they begin their run through the National Playoffs.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for noon inside Bophey Field on the campus of Dartmouth University. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE.
