December 9 - Fordham won the Rhino Rugby Bowl Saturday at SaberCat Stadium in Houston, TX, defeating Southern Nazarene 26-13. The Rams led the entire contest, but the Crimson Storm were always threatening.
Flyhalf Francisco Ligouri’s kicks from tee and hand were exceptional all day, accounting for 13 points in the contest. He sandwiched SNU’s Martin Mdingi’s penalty kick with two of his own, putting Fordham up, 6-3. Liguori also dotted down the first try, dummying his way through the Crimson Storm defense and centering a try, which he’d convert, all while a man down with flanker John Murphy being sent off with a yellow card.
Liguori’s boot also served to give Southern Nazarene a long field most of the first half. Danger runners like hooker Luis Camacho routinely made line breaks, but Fordham’s defense had plenty of space to scramble and time to reorganize. The Crimson Storm finally broke through when No. 8 Sam Miller crashed over off the back of a five-meter scrum following an errant Fordham lineout, cutting the Rams’ lead to 13-10 going into halftime.
Fordham capitalized on a pump-fake during an SNU lineout to score the only try of the second half. Liguori quick-tapped the free kick, setting up fullback Santiago Thompson to slice through the remaining defenders. Liguori added one more penalty for good measure.
