Notre Dame College took advantage of a favorable first-half wind and didn’t allow St. Bonaventure to do the same in the second half in capturing the National Collegiate Rugby Division I title, 35-10, Saturday night at SaberCats Stadium in Houston.

The Falcons jumped to a 16-5 halftime lead and only allowed the Bonnies a Patrick Clink try at the 66-minute mark to cut the lead to 23-10. But a costly interception on the ensuing kickoff set NDC up for another score just three minutes later to douse any last flicker of hope SBU had.

Will Hogan scored midway through the first half for the Bonnies to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 6-5.

The match was a point of pride for Rugby East; the Bonnies and Notre Dame are league members. The Falcons defeated St. Bonaventure, 28-19, in a back-and-forth game Nov. 4 in Cleveland.

The start of the match was delayed two-and-a-half hours because of thunderstorms in the area, and the first half was played in a driving rain.

In the national semifinals on Dec. 2 at Penn State-Berks, the Bonnies pulled out a heart-stopping 15-13 win over No. 1 Brown on a penalty kick by freshman Noah Edwards on the last play of the match.

St. Bonaventure defeated Penn State, 19-18, to win the 2021 Fall 15s national title. The St. Bonaventure women won the 2023 NCR small-college national title Dec. 3 in Houston, defeating Wisconsin-Platteville, 22-17.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).