St. Bonaventure University

For the last two seasons, St. Bonaventure and Brown have taken turns delivering the ultimate gut punch to each other, eliminating their fellow rugby powerhouse in the National Collegiate Rugby tournament on the final play of the match.

The Bonnies wanted no part of that nail-biting drama again this year.

In one of the most dominant performances in program history, St. Bonaventure stormed to a 31-0 halftime lead and ousted Brown (8-1), the nation’s second-ranked team, 51-7, to advance to the national D-I semifinals Dec. 6 at Butler, Pennsylvania.

The Bonnies (7-2-1 overall), ranked No. 3 in the latest NCR poll, will play No. 4 Walsh (6-3-1), which edged Marian, 30-28, in a Sunday quarterfinal. The Bonnies tied Walsh, 25-25, on Oct. 3.

The winner of that match will move on to the national title game Dec. 13 in Houston vs. the winner of No. 1 Queens and No. 8 Belmont Abbey. All four teams in the semifnals are from the Atlantic Rugby Conference.

Danny Neighbour has coached countless games, but none more satisfying than Saturday’s win at Siena, chosen as the neutral site for the match.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever had as much fun watching a game as a coach because they were just in full control, with or without the ball. I could have headed home and they’d have been just fine without me,” Neighbour said. “That’s where you want to be on game day because, as a coach, on game day you can’t do that much to help. It’s on the guys to execute and my goodness did they!”

The Bonnies’ defensive effort was as impressive as their offensive outpouring.

With Brown still well within reach midway through the first half, the Bonnies stymied the Bears for more than 6 minutes when Brown was on the doorstep of scoring, twice within a foot of the try zone.

“From our tenacious defense to our explosive attack, they had no answer for our game plan or our execution,” Neighbour said. “The lads were just fantastic in all areas of the game. It was a pleasure to watch, coach and be a part of. I’ll remember that game for a long, long time. It was one for the history books.”

Dara Falope led the way for SBU with a trio of tries, while Tyler White, Koen Webb, Troy Heroldt, Eddie Nelson and Rohan Welsh each had one. Noah Edwards added a penalty kick and five conversions to round out the scoring.

The Bonnies turned a number of Brown miscues into scores, none more remarkable than Webb’s with about 6 minutes left in the first half.

On a clearing kick by the Bonnies to flip field possession, two Brown players ran into each other trying to field the ball.

Webb raced toward the collision, kicked the ball ahead toward the try zone, and somehow managed to grab the ball and maintain possession as a Brown defender took out Webb’s legs, causing Webb to cartwheel toward the try zone. He regained his footing, flopped into the try zone and tapped the ball down for a score, causing the nearby Bonaventure sideline to erupt.

“A world-class piece of skill,” Neighbour said.

The Bonnies will be attempting to reach the national title game in Houston for the third time in five years. They defeated Penn State for the title in 2021 and lost to Notre Dame College in 2023.

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).