West London Varsity: Rugby Union – St Mary’s 14-33 Brunel

St Mary’s Rugby Union couldn’t get revenge for last year’s Varsity result with a 14-33 defeat to Brunel on the main campus pitch at West London Varsity.

Last year at Brunel, it was a tight three-point loss; however, this year, St Mary’s only managed to score two tries in an intense encounter early on Varsity day.

Brunel opened the scoring early following a mistake from the Simmies. An overthrown lineout close to the St Mary’s line allowed Brunel to pounce and dive over for the early lead.

The Simmies struck back after sustained pressure inside the Brunel 22. A quick tap penalty caught the defence off guard, and back row Diego Cost crashed over, and the added conversion took the lead.

Brunel didn’t take it lightly and scored almost immediately after, with the fullback running back a loose kick and scoring a wonder of a solo try, leaving the St Mary’s defenders in the dust for a brilliant try.

The visitors were showing their class and opened up St Mary’s for another try. With the numbers out wide, the centre glided down the win with ease for another score.

The intense rivalry was shown with multiple fights breaking out on the pitch, and the referee had words with both sides.

Brunel was showing dominance at the set piece with a strong pack at scrum time, but St Mary’s held on as the game edged towards halftime.

Another mistake from the Simmies allowed Brunel to pounce on the counter-attack, and it was all too easy as they ran in another, and the ref blew his whistle for the break.

The second half kicked off with St Mary’s holding their own. Brunel was shown yellow for consecutive penalties, and St Mary’s capitalised, eventually getting their second score.

The play was getting scrappy with mistakes from both sides as it edged towards the final minutes, but Brunel ran away with the game off a dropped ball by St Mary’s, and the winger broke away with pace and took the game out of reach.

Brunel were handed another yellow card after a large fight broke out, and the Simmies were a man up yet again.

Despite the player advantage, the Simmies couldn’t capitalise and score again before the final whistle, and Brunel came away victorious in a brutal encounter in front of a bumper crowd.

The Sports Gazette is providing the official cover of the West London Varsity follow the live blog for updates