Defense was key for The Woodlands. Alex Goff photo.

The Woodlands Rugby team surged to a powerful 22-0 victory over the Eastside Lions during the opening round of the National Championships in Elkhart, Indiana, on May 23, 2024.

The Moose Rugby Grounds saw the Woodlands, the #1 seed in the HS Club bracket, struggled to find tries early in the game.

Both teams defended well and Neel Menon's penalty goal was the only scoring, giving The Woodlands a slim 3-0 lead at the break.

But into the second half The Woodlands defense produced a try. As Eastside tried to run out of their own half, Jace Hernandez intercepted a pass was raced in from 20 meters to score under the posts. With Menon's conversion it was 10-0.

The Texans would get another try off a miscue from Eastside and then constructed another in solid fashion—Zane Smith and Sebastian Infante going over. Menon logged two conversions and a penalty.

Captain and No. 8 Sky Feletoa's led by example in a game that was a tough physical contest.

For Eastside, they had some moments, but injuries to three starters in the first half, and two yellow cards late cost them.

Feletoa's leadership was further echoed in his post-game statement, "We just had a lot of guys who were new at Nationals and we just had to tell them, keep doing what they're doing, and what we did at practice."

The Woodlands will look to build upon the strong start as they move forward into the semis against defending champs Belmont Shore.