Saint Mary’s Rugby Beats Brigham Young in Impressive Fashion

While it was quintessentially sunny weather at Saint Mary's Stadium on Saturday, February 15, the rugby matchup was anything but typical. The fifth-ranked Saint Mary’s Gaels hosted the sixth-ranked Brigham Young University Cougars in a face-off that will influence playoff seeding, momentum for the remainder of the regular season, and national recognition.

It was a fierce fight, but Saint Mary’s beat BYU in impressive fashion, 60–28. The Gaels answered their opponent's testing with electrifying offense, stout defense, and a lineup flexibility that offered the team a plethora of options. 

First-Half Stumbles—and Winning Substitutions

It started slow between the two teams as they jockeyed back and forth for field position. That is, until one of two starting centers, Sosaia Pongi ’26, went down with an injury. Gaels Coach Tim O’Brien faced the early challenge of manipulating his planned starting lineup to fit the game plan. He opted for his starting fly-half and junior captain, Dominic Besag ’26, to move into the center position, allowing Ollie Cline ’26 to play fly-half. 

An injury substitution just ten minutes into a match could derail many teams from their proposed strategy, but not the Gaels. Moments later, they won a penalty and ran a strong maul from approximately 10 meters outside the try zone, resulting in a try from Besag. This gave Saint Mary’s their first lead after a good conversion from the recently subbed-in Cline. 

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Cline’s kicking clinic did not stop there. He took advantage of a BYU penalty by sending a kick into touch through the thinnest margins down the left sideline. Directly after that kick and lineout, Cline delivered an expertly calibrated kick to Siale Ofa ’28, who made a diving catch that landed him in the try zone to extend the early lead. 

A BYU turnover deep in Saint Mary’s territory was capitalized on by Ofa and fullback Mario Storti ’25. Ofa gained 50 meters running and then placed a beautiful ball into the try zone from 45 meters out off the right leg, which helped carry him through the opposing defense. Storti came crashing down into the try zone to cap off the highlight—and the Gaels looked comfortable 25 minutes in, leading by 17.

Not surprisingly, the Cougars had an answer: Zach Maughan made an excellent run through the Gael defense and cut into the lead, making it 17–7. Saint Mary’s added a penalty goal to make it 20–7, and a try from King Matu ’24, MA ’25 brought the score to 25–7. The Gaels expected to take the three-possession lead into the half, but BYU answered again. BYU’s Brook Vaitohi touched down a try in the waning moments of the first half, making it a 25–14 match at the break.

Pulling Together

In the second half, a strong first move from BYU was expected and delivered. A 21–5 run narrowed Saint Mary’s lead to 32–28. After that, it was all Gaels until the final whistle. “We kind of took our foot off the gas at the beginning of the second half,” acknowledged Captain Cathal Coakley ’24, MA ’25. “We had to keep our focus and get going again. We did that and played a complete 80 minutes together.”

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Some highlights from the rest of the match include excellent backline play from Storti, Iosefa Toia’ivao ’26 with two tries, and Besag to pile on scoring. One final scoring play was initiated by a well-drawn-up lineout that had the Toia’ivao throwing it in. The Cougars did not seem alarmed—that is, until the sophomore uncorked a 35-meter frozen rope as if he was still the impressive dual-threat quarterback he was in high school. Aisake Tukuafu ’26 took the ball clean out of the air, and Storti scored his second try after a strong run coupled with clean passing. This put the finishing touches on the final score of 60–28, involving several reserves on the Saint Mary’s side.

For many on the Gaels team, the win was a testament to togetherness. King Matu recalled the words of alum and coach Francois Pieterse ’22: “‘Forwards decide if we win, the backs decide by how much.’” And while there was undoubtedly some adversity throughout the match, the Gaels appeared poised to meet it. The forwards held strong when needed most and allowed the backs to get loose, mentally and offensively. 

For players accustomed to playing high-stakes matches, the game was, as  Mario Storti put it, “Just another day at the office.”

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UP NEXT: Saint Mary’s B Side faces off against the University of British Columbia (B Side) on Wednesday, February 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Saint Mary’s Stadium. Come and cheer on the Gaels in person, or watch on the Gael Rugby YouTube channel.