Furman to host South Carolina’s top side Saturday

The Furman men’s rugby team will face the University of South Carolina 11 a.m., Saturday at Roberts Field. That match-up is between two undefeated teams. Furman is 5-0 and is coming off a resounding 96-0 win over Wake Forest. The Gamecocks have logged early-season wins against the University of Georgia and Mississippi State.

Furman was originally scheduled to take on USC’s second team. On Wednesday, however, a Vanderbilt cancellation paved the way for the Paladins to take on the Gamecock’s top side.

“This will be a great challenge for our team,” said Furman Coach John Roberts. “The game should be close and exciting.”

Both teams are Southern powers that compete in different divisions. South Carolina, a Division I program, is ranked 19 in the nation while Furman is ranked 12 among Division II schools. Both teams are the cream of the crop in their conferences. USC is a member of the Southeastern Rugby Conference while Furman completes in the Southern Rugby Conference.

In recent weeks, both programs have put up lopsided wins over outmatched opponents. Furman has bested Elon 64-15 and Western Carolina 109-7 while the Gamecocks defeated Georgia 33-15 and MSU 71-07. So Saturday’s non-conference friendly contest should be competitive.

Furman holds an 11-7 overall advantage over the Gamecocks in a series that dates back to 1998. The Paladins, in fact, played their inaugural game at South Carolina, a 25-5 loss. Furman Coach John Roberts, who founded the team, is a 1990 graduate of USC where he played rugby for three years and served as president of the club.