Saturday presented a tough game for the  Weber State University men’s rugby team as they took on Salt Lake Community College at Salt Lake City in a match that ended in a 24-24 tie.

“We started off our game a little slow and struggled to move the ball up the field,” said James Rock. “We slowly got more comfortable. We began to get into our stride and worked as a team.”

At the end of the half Weber State was leading 12-10. In the second half Kerry Hughes and James Rock both scored to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 24-10. The Bruins scored off a mistake made by WSU to make it 24-17 before scoring again to tie the game after a controversial call.

“With this game we didn’t just play against the other team but we played against the referee as well,” Rock said. “So we had more adversity than most, yet we still tied.”

Dalton Gullo said that at the end of the game the referee on the field made a poor call and went against the sideline judge, which allowed SLCC to score once more tying the game.

The team was not surprised by the outcome of the game, but they still consider the game a loss.

“I think we made some mistakes but played really well,” Gullo said. “It was definitely a learning game for us, and I know the tie is the closest we will come to losing all season.”

The Wildcats (0-0-1) return to action on March 21 when they host in-state rival Utah State University on the rugby field at Weber State by the Social Sciences building.