The UNA Rugby Club lost 24-7 to Memphis University Oct. 13 at home.

Throughout the game, the Lions’ play was sloppy, with multiple missed tackles and dropped passes.

Head coach Eddie Roberts said the team needs more practice to become more disciplined.

“It’s a team game and people don’t understand; there’s no blocking or anything like that,” Roberts said. “If one man’s out of position, there’s a whole breakdown in that situation.”

The Tigers got ahead early with two tries in the first half. The team missed one of two conversions, leaving the score 12-0 at halftime.

UNA answered early in the second half when Tyler Lane sailed down the field to score, closing the gap 12-7.

The Lions’ success did not last long, however, as the Tigers scored two more times in the half, making the final score 24-7.  

Roberts said some team members have had trouble making it to practice, but he plans to move around practice times to get as many players to every practice as possible.

“We’ve got kids that work that have to put themselves through school; we’ve got night classes,” Roberts said. “It’s just hard to get continuity.”

Roberts maintained, however, that he knows the team can pull together.

“We’ve got a lot of good athletes, a lot of good guys,” he said. “They just need to figure out how to get there — and that’s my job as a coach to get them there.”