Charlotte plays some defense. Alex Goff photo.

The Charlotte Cardinals commenced the National Championships in Rugby with a resounding 34-5 victory over the Okapi Wanderers.

Led by try scorers Beyond Bembry, Colby Marr, Jacob Schmiacher, and Luke Zehmke, the Cardinals actually were more excited about their defensive effort. Okapi spent considerable time in try-scoring position but were usually held out by the Cardinals' D.

Colson's performance was crucial for dictating the tempo of the game.

"What Okapi did was play a nice Florida style of rugby with good offloads and get to the edge," Colson said. "But we had good line speed and we tackled well and we drove them back."

This was a workmanlike performance from Charlotte, while Okapi saw the level of intensity in National Championship rugby. Next up for Charlotte will be the San Diego Mustans.