The 2011 rugby match between the two schools was Saturday at the MTSU Sports Complex and it is an early conference test that could decide a tournament berth.

Head coach Jody Hensley and one of the few seniors on the team, Fletcher Burkhart believes the team has to win the three conference games to have a chance to advance.

“Every conference game this season is important,” Burkhart, who plays center, said. “We have to win everything. We can’t have a loss. If we lose, we are done. We don’t go the tournament or the playoffs.”

 This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools. Emory University and Georgia Southern are the other two programs in the Moosemen’s conference. MTSU started off the spring season playing tough competition in which the Moosemen earned a split. They lost to Nashville, but beat North Atlanta 24-12, a couple of weeks later.

Hensley said playing the tough opponents in both the fall and spring has improved the squad’s performance, especially with several young players. “It was good that the young guys stepped up and was not scared of the big boys,” junior fullback Chris Meredith said. This year’s team has only three seniors.

Last year, MTSU played host to both the collegiate USA Rugby South playoffs and the Tennessee High School tournament. However, both of them will be played at a different location this year, but the school hopes to get them back in the near future.

For those new to rugby, there are two different versions of the sport, fifteens and sevens. The match on Saturday will have 15 players on a side during action on the pitch. The sevens version is getting a lot of worldwide attention.

Last week, a huge world tournament took place in Las Vegas that brought together the best teams in the world. The tournament was broadcasted on NBC, and the sport will make an appearance in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. One of those in attendance was MTSU head coach Jody Hensley and he said he gained several ideas to put in place for the fall. One of those things was seeing how the world’s best players are patient with the ball and keep it moving.

Next fall, the Moosemen will play in a conference that will crowned a sevens champion. Hopefully, the winner will advance to the collegiate nationals, which was shown on NBC, last year.