The Sam Houston State University men’s rugby team wrapped up the preseason with a 41-14 win over Texas A&M on Friday at Holleman field.

The Bearkats split up to play two games, one by the Sam Houston Blues and the other by the Sam Houston Greys.

“Our Sam Houston Grey team consists of younger and newer players,” club president Nicholas Olney said. “Sam Houston Blue has all the veterans and returning players.”

SHSU played against tough competition. The University of Texas rugby team is in a higher ranked conference than SHSU and is set to be a top competitor in the 2017 season.

“With any game emotions are high, even in a preseason game,” Olney said. “On top of that, Texas A&M is a tough team to beat. Their team is in a higher ranked conference so to beat them was a huge achievement.”

In the Friday night game, player Ryan Payne scored on one try and helped hold A&M to only 14 points.

“Ryan Payne was terrific,” Olney said “He scored once but his strength and pace was unstoppable.”

With the preseason wrapped up, the team looks forward to the regular season. The team finds the preseason as an opportunity to prepare for the regular season and to give the newcomers some play time.

“The preseason mainly helps by getting us in check,” Olney said “It gets us back into the swing of things.  It also allows all the new players who have never played before to get some game time and have a feel for what a game is like.”

The team will travel to San Antonio to play UTSA on Sept. 30. Venue and time to be decided