Match Recap: University of Oregon 2025

On Friday, two full squads traveled to Eugene to battle it out with the Ducks. With the England v France game playing in the breakfast room, spirits were high and the game focus was palpable. After a cold rainy morning, the grass field was slick and muddy. Hard to gain traction, scrums were reset and there were more missed tackles from both teams than would have happened on turf or a dry field.

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We played a strong kicking game. Although we kicked more than twice as much as against WWU, we spent more time in opposition territory, and had more time in possession. Oregon scored first, under the posts around the 20-minute mark. Just before the half, we retorted with a try of our own, 3rd year #8 Vaea Tangitau dotting it down in the corner. UW 5 - 7 UO.

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In the second half, again Oregon was first to score. 5 minutes later, the Dawgs scored one of their own when the Ducks decided not to contest a lineout hoping to draw a penalty. First-year Lock Thomas Williams, after winning the lineout, turned and barged through the Oregon scrumhalf and over the try line himself. Third-year fullback Sebastian Sosa made an outstanding conversion from near the sideline, putting us within 2 points.

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With 8 minutes remaining, UW drew a scrum penalty, and put themselves in a position to score, knocking at the door with a couple attempts in vain. The referee, unassisted by ARs, was unable to see Thomas Williams scoring the try (a video from the opposite sideline shows the ball on the ground). The referee called the try held up. With the clock in the red, the Ducks had a goal-line dropout, and we turned the ball over in a subsequent breakdown. We do not blame the ref - he couldn't reasonably award points he didn't know had been scored, and did the best he could.‍

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Primary takeaways:

• We must remove all doubt by outscoring the opposition, so the referee's decisions don't call the game's result into question.
• We played a cleaner and more clinical game throughout. 10 penalties to their 16. Scrums won were 100%: 14/14, to Oregon's 9/10. Lineouts won 10/13 to Oregon's 6/10.
• We need to overcome and prepare better for field conditions - our gainline dominance dropped 15% from last week. Our missed tackles rose significantly.
• Our attack gets incrementally better, but we need to prioritize KBA, and getting the ball to space.
• While the Dawgs were not rewarded with a win for the tireless hard work leading up to this game, the coaches are tremendously proud! Last year the Ducks beat us 38-10. This year our scores were UW 14-10 UO, and UW 12-14 UO.

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The Second XV had a fantastic game. With a halftime score of 7-7, the Dawgs walked away with a 21-7 win. Two tries by third-year Lucas Huntziker, and one by first-year Enzo Rolfe. Enzo was 2/2 on conversions, and Matthew Curtis 1/1.