College Team Poised To Break Out #2: St. Bonaventure
College Team Poised To Break Out #2: St. Bonaventure
A look at another college team set to break out in the fall of 2017 -- St. Bonaventure. Last fall, the Bonnies were 3-6, with only one of those games (a 17-12 loss to Iona) being close.
Our next team poised for a breakout season in the fall of 2017 is St. Bonaventure.
The Bonnies have been putting in a lot of hard work in recruiting players and elevating their talent level from that of a good club to an almost varsity-type program. It's been a struggle in part because SBU is in a really difficult Rugby East conference, so improvement isn't always seen in wins and losses.
Head coach Tui Osborne brings an attention to detail to his rugby as well as a bit of flair. The combination is a good one, making St. Bonaventure fun to play for each season.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/SBURugby/status/881637006882820097" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
SBU has recruited about 30 incoming freshmen, and while few will start immediately, they will provide much-needed depth for a program that is going up against some of the toughest teams in the East.
So look for a much-improved St. Bonaventure team… but how do we measure improvement?
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/SBURugby/status/863207993713844229" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Last fall, the Bonnies were 3-6, with only one of those games (a 17-12 loss to Iona) being close. The other five losses were by an average score of 61-19, with four of those games seeing SBU giving up 60 or more.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/SBURugby/status/860184819959042049" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
So that makes it fairly straightforward. To show improvement, St. Bonaventure needs to get that points-against number down, maybe below 40, and keep its good offensive numbers going. The Bonnies might pick up a win or two along the way, but this is more about closing the gap. St. Bonaventure will certainly do that in 2017.
The Bonnies have been putting in a lot of hard work in recruiting players and elevating their talent level from that of a good club to an almost varsity-type program. It's been a struggle in part because SBU is in a really difficult Rugby East conference, so improvement isn't always seen in wins and losses.
Head coach Tui Osborne brings an attention to detail to his rugby as well as a bit of flair. The combination is a good one, making St. Bonaventure fun to play for each season.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/SBURugby/status/881637006882820097" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
SBU has recruited about 30 incoming freshmen, and while few will start immediately, they will provide much-needed depth for a program that is going up against some of the toughest teams in the East.
So look for a much-improved St. Bonaventure team… but how do we measure improvement?
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/SBURugby/status/863207993713844229" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Last fall, the Bonnies were 3-6, with only one of those games (a 17-12 loss to Iona) being close. The other five losses were by an average score of 61-19, with four of those games seeing SBU giving up 60 or more.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/SBURugby/status/860184819959042049" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
So that makes it fairly straightforward. To show improvement, St. Bonaventure needs to get that points-against number down, maybe below 40, and keep its good offensive numbers going. The Bonnies might pick up a win or two along the way, but this is more about closing the gap. St. Bonaventure will certainly do that in 2017.
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