Dec 13, 2025
This time, there was never a doubt.
After hanging on by their fingernails in 2021 to edge Penn State, 19-18, for the National Collegiate Rugby Division I Championship, St. Bonaventure dominated Queens University, 55-19, Saturday in Houston to capture its second men's NCR title.
This was SBU’s third trip to the national title game in the last five seasons. They lost to Notre Dame College in the 2023 title game.
“It’s wonderful moment to stand on the sideline and to see so much hard work come to fruition. So many guys on the team had that heartbreak of losing (the title game) in 2023 and now they are walking away with such a dominant postseason run,” said Coach Danny Neighbour. “I’m just so proud of the coaches, the trainers, all the guys back home who didn’t make the trip. It was really a collective effort.”
The Bonnies, whose only regular-season league loss came at the hands of Queens in the Atlantic Rugby Conference title game, bolted to a 24-7 halftime lead and were never threatened in the final 40 minutes.
The last-minute loss in the ARC title game relegated the Bonnies to a play-in game to qualify for the NCR tournament, but Coach Danny Neighbor called the setback “a wake-up call that helped us refocus on what needed to improve.”
“Ever since that first half vs. Queens (in the league title game), we’ve just been dominant defensively and backing it up with our kicking game and control of the territory,” Neighbour said.
Since halftime of the ARC title game with Queens, SBU outscored its opponents, 202-51. Before Saturday, they defeated Southern Nazarene, 44-17, in the play-in match; defending national champion Brown, 51-7, in the quarterfinals; and Walsh University, 33-8, in the national semifinal.
Tournament MVP Troy Heroldt scored three times, including a weaving 40-yard sprint through the Queens defense on the final play of the first half to break the spirit of Queens, who had cut the lead to 17-7 just 6 minutes earlier.
But the South African native was quick to deflect credit to his teammates.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of boys to be out there with on the field tonight. They were amazing,” Heroldt said. “We’re going to keep on working and not just be satisfied with this. We want to come back next year and do it again.”
The Bonnies got on the board early in the match when Reynard Boshoff plowed into the try zone just 5 minutes in and Noah Edwards made his first of seven conversions. Edwards’ penalty kick 10 minutes later made it 10-0 and Queens would never get within one score again.
Tanya Takaendisa scored 5 minutes later to make it 17-0 after a lineout just outside the try line, the result of an incredible 70-yard clearing kick by Manu Taula that hit the try zone pilon.
Five minutes into the second half, Eddie Nelson scored to make it 31-7, bolting up the sideline after a steal and turning a Queens defender inside out on a 50-yard dash to the try zone.
Heroldt added two more scores and Mike Sears closed the try scoring with 10 minutes to play. Edwards PK with 2 minutes to go gave him 20 points for the match.
“It’s hard to find the words. It’s just an unreal feeling. This is something that has been building for years and it’s all thanks to him,” Edwards said, pointing to Neighbour in a post-game interview. “None of this would have been possible without the coaches and staff. This isn’t just for the 25 guys who came here. This is for everyone in the program.”
“Everyone” is nearly 70 players in the program.
“This is probably the deepest we’ve ever been. Week in and week out, our dogs just bring it all the time,” said Neighbour, referring to the JV squad that pushes his varsity players every practice to be their best.
“That preps us for every game beautifully and it showed this postseason. It’s a massive credit to them. When training is that hard, the games don’t seem as hard.”
______________
About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #8 for value and #19 overall by U.S. News and World Report (2025).