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SANDY -- BYU took home the Wasatch Cup for the sixth year in a row by beating the University of Utah 40-22 Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium in an emotional rivalry game between the two powerhouse rugby programs.
"All the hard work we've been putting in all year finally is paying off, coming out here and getting a big win off a good team," said captain Ryan Roundy, who scored BYU's final try of the first half.
The win came with a price though as several BYU players were walked off the field due to injuries and didn't finish the game.
"We knew it was going to be a physical game," said assistant coach Kimball Kjar. "It was our first real big test for both of the teams, so we knew that they were going to try to use their size as an advantage but the guys hung in there."
BYU jumped out to a quick lead at 20-3 after only 16 minutes of play behind two penalty kicks and two tries. BYU scored two more tries in the first half to go up 30-3 before Utah scored its first try of the game. BYU had a commanding 35-8 lead at the break.
"One of the things we really wanted to work on this year was coming out early," Roundy said. "That's one thing we really did well. We just wanted to make a point, wanted to play as a team."
In the second half, the Utes held BYU to only five points and scored two tries of their own to end the game at 40-22, but the first-half deficit was too much to overcome as BYU went home with the win and the trophy.
"It was the first half, we just started out really good," Kjar said. "The guys were all on cue. We had everybody running on all cylinders, and it was good to go right from the first half. That's really what set us apart."
Saturday marked the first game of the season for the new College Premier League that had BYU ranked second and Utah ranked sixth going into the game.
E-mail: krebs.charles@gmail.com
