First impressions are important, especially in sports. For a player, it can mean the difference between the playing on the field and sitting on the bench. For a team, it can serve as a morale booster, or a downer. Jesuit varsity rugby lost its first game against St. Thomas on January 27th: the score 10-17. For varsity rugby, this was a learning experience, and Rugby is nevertheless still hopeful for a good season.
“It was our first game and we had a lot of inexperienced kids, so it was good to get the first game under our belt,” noted Paris Brown ’18, emphasizing the importance of developing some of the younger players on the team and giving them some game experience.
The squad was down a few players, and Junior Gerard Gonzalez commented that because of the injuries, “a lot of people were thrust into their start offs.”
But these unfortunate absences were not the only reason for the loss. Head coach Ortiz explained that “[the team] honestly lost off mainly making [their] own mistakes and then 
[St. Thomas] capitalizing on them.”
“The score was 10-17, but they pretty much only scored because of our penalties,” agreed Gonzalez; he continued, “And their ten had a really good leg so he capitalized on everything. I feel like we played a solid game. We’ll get St. Thomas back when we go to the playoffs!” he exclaimed.
On top of that, “St. Thomas is one of the best teams, if not the best team in Houston,” explained Ortiz. “They put up a really good show.”
Despite the loss, the team left with “high spirits,” concluded Ortiz. “There is a lot of potential for the year.”
“We’ll get better and let’s go for state,” said Gonzalez optimistically, looking forward to the long season ahead with excitement and desire to win.
