HOUSTON – Notre Dame College men's rugby has won the 2023 Division I National Collegiate Rugby Championship. Through the Texas wind, rain and storms the Falcons led 16-5 at halftime and continued to dominate in the second half to secure a 33-10 victory against St. Bonaventure University.
 
Entering the weekend, Notre Dame felt good about the matchup with the Bonnies. To close out the regular season, on Nov. 4, the Falcons defeated SBU, 28-19.
 
To get the National Championship Game, No. 2 ranked NDC defeated No. 5 Siena College, 50-0, in the quarterfinals, and then beat No. 4 Indiana, 26-13, in the semifinal matchup. No. 3 St. Bonaventure defeated Wheeling University, 26-13, in the quarters and then upset No. 1 Brown, 15-13, in the semis.
 
On Saturday evening, storms moved in and delayed all games being played at Aveva Stadium. The Division I title game between the Falcons and Bonnies eventually started two and-a-half hours late.
 
Although they started after 9:30 p.m. eastern time, in the pouring rain, Notre Dame was ready to go. As head coach Hugh Johnston said before the game, "We love the rain."
 
And the Falcons showed off the experience they have playing in adverse weather conditions as Lachy McDonald sent two kicks through the uprights in the first 13 minutes to give NDC a 6-0 advantage.
 
St. Bonaventure scored the first try of the game, but the kick attempt failed and the score was 6-5. That was as close as SBU would get the rest of the game.
 
Notre Dame moved down the field and crisp passing sent the ball across the pitch to the right side, allowing Asher Hannon to cross the line and put NDC on top, 11-5. Six minutes later, Notre Dame was threatening again. Off of a scrum, Notre Dame moved forward and Cameron Mills pushed his way in for a try. The Falcons' lead was 11, 16-5, at halftime.
 
The Bonnies had multiple chances early in the second half, but could not find a way to grab five points.
 
In the 57th minute, the Falcons overpowered St. Bonaventure to get the ball into the Bonnies' half. To cap the run down the field, McDonald found some space and wisely sent the ball over to Tadiwanashe Kainga at the last second, which resulted in a try.
 
SBU would score, in the 66th minute, making the score 23-10 in favor of NDC. However, the Falcons immediately took the ball back, as Christian Dickens snagged the ball out of the air off of a St. Bonaventure pass. Less than three minutes after the Bonnies put five on the board, NDC scored a try with Christian Gatica.
 
To close the match, George Brown moved past the try line to give Notre Dame a 33-10 lead.
 
The Falcons outscored its three playoff opponents, 109-23, on the way to the program's second fall national championship and first since 2016.