CRAA D1A 2024 Playoffs: 3rd-seeded BYU rolls to first-round rout of UCLA

Taysan Hammer and Wyatt Parry each scored two tries, and third-seeded BYU men’s rugby rolled to a 48-15 win over sixth-seeded UCLA in the first round of the CRAA D1A college rugby playoffs.

Taysan Hammer and Wyatt Parry each scored two tries, and third-seeded BYU men’s rugby rolled to a 48-15 win over sixth-seeded UCLA in the first round of the CRAA D1A college rugby playoffs Friday at South Field in Provo, Utah.

BYU will face the winner of tomorrow’s match between No. 2 Central Washington and seventh-seeded Arizona in a West semifinal April 13.

UCLA struck early for the 7-0 advantage, but BYU responded to tie the match through the forward pack and Hammer’s conversion that split the uprights after 15 minutes.

John Campbell dotted it down a minute later, finishing a try from Ben Austin ahead of the 17th minute to give the Cougars a 14-7 lead.

Hammer added a try of his own in the 22nd minute to stretch the lead to 21-10 en route to a 26-10 halftime advantage.

BYU opened the second half with Hammer’s second try less than two minutes in, and Parry fake a pass before finishing a dummy for a try with 20 minutes remaining to extend the Cougars’ lead to 38-10.

Parry topped off his second try under the post in the 78th minute, and Hammer finished the scoring with a penalty conversion with four minutes to go before UCLA pulled back a late try in the closing minutes for the final margin.