Welcome to the first monthly update of 2025! A few divisions kicked off in the fall, and we have standing scores to cover from then, but the rest took to the pitch this past month and there is a LOT to cover. Let’s dive in!
Men's Premiership
There are four teams in the Men’s Premiership this year, and they all play each other three times.
On January 11th the Dallas Harlequins (1-2) kicked off their season by traveling down to the Austin Huns (0-3). This new-look Harlequins took the entire union by surprise when they snatched victory from the home team. Fueled by a snappy backline and some impact subs, the Quins did not come to get kicked around this year. January 18th was the first of three derby weekends where the Austin Blacks (2-0) and the Dallas RFC (2-0) both started their seasons off on the right foot. The Blacks comfortably dispatched the Huns, finding the try zone ten times in 80 minutes. The Reds did similarly to the Quins, giving them a reality check on home turf as they won 57-12. Finally both Dallas teams hit the road to Austin. The Dallas RFC made short work of the Huns, who scored one try more than the Quins did against the Reds the week before. The Quins fared better against the 2023 National Champs though, managing five tries in the 100 point thriller at Burr Field.
Coming in February is everyone’s favorite battle of the titans as the Dallas RFC travel to the Austin Blacks on the 8th while the Austin Huns head to Dallas to try to find their first win of the season.

Women's Premiership
A bit of a different look this year for the D1 and D2 Women’s teams in the TRU. Instead of separate divisions, the teams will all play each other in a hybrid format, increasing the competition and better preparing the teams for the postseason.
Two games took place in December, the Dallas Harlequins (1-1) showing off over Little Rock (2-1) and the sHARCs (2-0) winning a road game against San Antonio (1-2). In January came the real excitement. On the 11th, the Austin Valkyries (1-1) held out for the last moments to eke by the Riveters 21-17, blessing the boot of flyhalf Marissa Dunagan whose two penalty goals were invaluable. However luck didn’t strike twice for the Valks as their road game to Little Rock the following weekend. In a defensive battle, no one expected Little Rock’s Tara Coffelt to have the lone try of the match in the 16th minute, yet it was. A massive win for Little Rock who plays in the D2-seeking National Pathway over the D1 Valkyries. San Antonio on the other hand, turned their luck around after the heartbreak loss to Austin. They traveled to the sHARCs 2 (0-2) and found their footing, with Sayde Brandt, Nicole Levermann, Toni Armstrong, and Abigail Haston all finding the try zone multiple times for the Riveters. In the final weekend of the month, Little Rock continued their winning ways as they recorded a big win after their travel down to the sHARCs 2, while the powerhouses of D1 met in Houston. The sHARCs scored in the opening minutes, but Dallas immediately responded. Another bout of arm-wrestling before Houston scored twice, taking the lead into halftime. Houston scored again, widening the gap, but let their guard down too early as the Quins made a late surge to bring the match within five in the closing minutes. Panic and desperation took hold, but the sHARCs were able to hold on until the whistle, final score 24-19.
Plenty to look forward to in February, the Quins will host the sHARCs in a sure to be epic rematch while San Antonio goes head to head against Little Rock in an top D2 clash.

Men's Division 2
We have to wind the clock back to November to cover everything that happened in the Men’s D2 competition so far. The season opened with the classic Houston derby, HARC (0-3) versus HURT (4-0). The 2024 TRU Champions started the way they ended, scoring five to overcome HARC 33-10. Since then, they’ve been unstoppable, only allowing 22 points over four matches. The Austin Blacks (2-0) are also undefeated, thanks to wins over HARC and DARC (0-3). The Dallas RFC and The Woodlands are both 2-1, Dallas unable to get past Grand Prairie (1-0) the final weekend of January and The Woodlands suffering at the hands of HURT. In the middle of the table are Fort Worth (1-1) and San Antonio (1-0). San Antonio impressed with a 71-7 win over the Austin Huns (0-4). As familiar faces in the playoff circuit, San Antonio just needs to get a few more games under their belt and they are sure to be at the top of the table. Fort Worth is always a tough nut to crack, they dropped to HURT, but they also recorded a strong win over DARC back in December. Look for a late surge from Fort Worth as the season progresses. The Austin Huns have a bit of work to do after starting off their season 0-4. They have gotten some of the big name opponents out of the way though, so perhaps things will turn around for the Huns come February. We’re looking forward to the Huns vs DARC game on February 8th, one of those teams will come up with their first win; as well as The Woodlands hosting the Dallas RFC on the 15th. Expect fireworks on that one.

Men's Division 3
Ah the Men’s Division 3. Perhaps the most exciting of the TRU divisions to cover (As the author, I get free reign to decide). We’re going to attack this one by subdivision. There are three regional subdivisions (North, Central, and South) as well as the D1-C made up of those big ol’ multi-sided clubs. Now there are some crossover games so everyone gets a fair shake and enough matches, and they throw a wrench into the score reporting. Let’s get started!
Heading up to the North, we will start with OKC Legion (2-1) who are kicking off their season in style. They opened in November against Tulsa (1-2) who gave them a run for their money, coming only a conversion short in the Legion’s 26-24 win. Unfortunately tides turned when Alliance (1-1) showed them the same scoreline, but reversed in December. A cruisy 40-24 win over the Austin Huns (2-2) closed out their 2024 at 2-1. They have yet to take the pitch in 2025, but we will see them in action in February. Tulsa pulled out a last minute win over Little Rock 41-38 to give themselves some points on the board. Little Rock (1-1) has their win over Alliance to fuel them on, and as we mentioned, Alliance beat OKC. So, really anyone’s game still. We are looking forward to the Alliance vs Tulsa match on February 1st, hoping that will bring some clarity to our standings.

Moving on to the Central region, we check in on San Antonio (4-1) who are sitting pretty at the top of the table. Their one loss came at the hands of the Austin Blacks who are not in their subdivision, so like, does it really count? They’ve easily handled the rest of the Central subdivision, accumulating bonus points in all of their wins. Corpus Christi (3-2) have turned their luck around after opening to a loss to San Antonio. They defeated Fort Hood (1-3), McAllen (0-5), and Alamo City (2-2) after a cross-divisional loss to the Dallas RFC. Alamo City still hangs onto third thanks to their win over McAllen. Coming up in February, Corpus Christi hosts Alamo City and McAllen.

In the South, it’s absolute chaos. The Houston Arrows (3-1) hold onto first, for now. They lost big to HURT (2-2) back in November but have cleaned up since banking a pair of wins over BARC (1-2) and a win over Galveston (2-3). HURT are in a close second thanks to their massive win over McAllen. They didn’t fare as well against Shreveport (1-2) and Galveston (2-3), who both snatched victory by only a try. Now Galveston looks pretty solid, coming from a winning streak over Shreveport and HURT, but they forfeited a loss to the Austin Huns which took away a table point and dropped them into third. Then at the bottom of the table is Bay Area who, oh wait, beat Galveston back in November. Any game from this subdivision is sure to be sweet, be sure to catch the Arrows hosting Shreveport on the 1st and the Galveston vs BARC rematch on the 15th.

Finally we check in with our multi-sided clubs in the D1-C. No surprise on this one, the Austin Blacks are 4-0 with a giant point differential. You’d expect more from the four-time National Champs right? The Austin Huns (2-2) split their matches, getting blanked by the Blacks but claiming victories over the Dallas Harlequins (2-2) and their forfeit win over Galveston. The Dallas RFC round out the competition at 1-2, a lone win over Corpus Christi on their scoresheet. Looking forward to February, the Blacks play the Reds in the triple-header derby at Burr Field while the Quins go cross-conference to take on Fort Hood.

Women's Cup (D3)
A handful of games in the newly invigorated Women’s Division 3 competition. While not seeking a National Championship pathway, these teams will compete for a TRU Championship. The OKC Mountain Boomers (2-0) are showing their stuff for their first season in the TRU. They opened with a win over the Dallas RFC (1-1) in November, and followed that up with a throttling of Round Rock Rage (0-2) at home in Oklahoma. Dallas and Bay Area are both 1-1. Dallas lost the opener but came back with a home win over Bay Area. Bay Area in turn defeated Round Rock Rage when they hosted in December. February brings us the Boomers first away match at the Rage and the BARC vs Dallas rematch on the 22nd.

Men's Division 4
A handful of games have taken place in the Men’s D4 competition, also not competing for a National Championship. The Collin County Copperheads (2-0) are continuing their winning ways from last season. They smoked Dallas RFC (1-1) but had a much closer contest against Las Colinas (2-1), who are currently in second place in the North subdivision. Las Colinas looked good in their 59-14 win over Fort Worth (0-2) and their 50-5 win over Denton (1-2). Denton got their first win of the season when they hosted DARC (1-1) on the 25th, while DARC got their first win over Fort Worth back in December.

In the South, we have half the number of active teams. HARC are currently 2-1, thanks to a shutout of The Woodlands (1-1). They split their games with Cy-Fair (2-1), each snagging a win in both exciting contests. The Woodlands reigned over Space City (0-2) who are committed to a formal schedule this year after playing a few one-offs in years prior. Looking forward to February, we are excited to see The Woodlands take on Cy-Fair on the 1st as well as DARC hosting HARC on the 22nd.

All information is gathered from team-entered data on RugbyXplorer. If you note any discrepancies, please first contact your club to ensure all data is submitted correctly and the game in finalized in RugbyXplorer. All additional commentary is for fun.
Any comments/questions/concerns can be directed to kat@texasrugbyunion.com.
Photo by Kyle Gage Images.