After defeating Stanford and falling to St. Mary's two weeks ago, the Arizona club rugby squad travels again to California to face Long Beach State today and UCLA tomorrow.
After finding an easy victory against the Cardinal, Arizona head coach Dave Sitton used the loss to a skilled St. Mary's team as motivation for improvement in practice this week.
Sitton said the squad reviewed ways to survey the field, including what he referred to as "looking at the role of the runner."
He also stressed that because the squad is small, yards after contact are not so important. Rather, he said, it is both possession and offensive support that will ultimately produce firepower.
In addition, the Arizona offense will gain force though junior Dane Whitmer, who was introduced to the team this week.
Although Whitmer rarely held the ball on the gridiron as a defensive end on the Arizona football team, the Wildcats say they look forward to his contribution.
"He should be exciting to watch when he gets the ball in his hands," Sitton said.
Communication on defense was also touched upon in practice. The coaching staff urged players to start making quicker decisions.
"It all boils down to pressure," Sitton said. "The great thing about college rugby is that players are slower mentally, so you have to keep the pressure on the other team."
The team endured a long practice Thursday filled with support drills and conditioning.
The Ruggers say they are making efforts to play "touch" games on off days to keep loose for their competition against the 49ers and the Bruins.
Arizona will need to stay in game shape as they continue their grueling schedule, playing two games each of the next few weekends.
The Wildcats return home for matches against San Diego and San Diego State next weekend.
"There is nobody in the country that plays a tougher schedule than we do," Sitton said. "We're playing four key games in nine days. We just need to take one at a time."