(photo by Bronislaw Grala)

The southern part of the country had a great day for rugby – compared to the cold or wet conditions in most of the country – as South league play continued on Saturday.

A crackerjack match in Knoxville, TN proved to be the match of the day in the South as Tennessee pulled through

Tennessee had to survive a North Carolina comeback in holding on for a 31-17 win.

“A dramatic match is the best way describe it,” Tennessee coach Butch Roberston told ARN.

The Vols roared out to a 24-3 halftime lead before the Tar Heels rallied.

“It was hammer and tongs for both sides,” Robertson said

With six minutes to go and Tennessee up 24-17, it put a try over to close the game out.

“Our one through eight in the scrums were strong and unsettled them (North Carolina) most of the day,” Robertson said.

That didn’t mean that North Carolina didn’t have attack options. “They have very fluid players in the open,” Robertson said.

#23-ranked Arkansas State kept its unbeaten run alive with a 68-0 thrashing over Clemson.

Tribe coach Curt Huckaby said the result is just a continuation of the team’s performances in its past two matches.

“We substituted liberally, but it’s starting to click,” Huckaby said.

Continuity between the scrums and backs set the platform on the day

“We’re emphasizing defense,” Huckaby said. “In the first 20 minutes, we took them out of their gameplan.”

Despite the scoreline, Huckaby said that the Tribe still has work to do. “There were too many turnovers and 50-50 passes,” he said.

Meantime, South Carolina beat Georgia 33-14. UC scored five tries in all and wore down the Bulldogs, mainly through the forwards.

“We still have a ways to go in getting to the upper echelons of the South Division 1 but we have had two wins on the trot," South Carolina coach Geoff Mason told ARN. “Georgia played constructively but we tackled well and did not let them make many inroads. Still the next game against Tennessee will be a real test.”

Weather continued to pose problems in Texas as league action was postponed for yet another week because of severe thunderstorms across the region.