LONDON, ON – The Western Mustangs men's rugby team defeated the Brock Badgers 29-25 in their home opener on Saturday afternoon. 

Head coach Ian McLeod said the team delivered a strong start but made the game closer than it needed to be: "Really pleased with the first half… for the second half, the boys held on, found a way to take the win, and that's big for us." 

Western came out fast, with #6 Spencer Voegeli scoring a try just two minutes in, giving the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead. Brock answered at 9 minutes, but the Mustangs quickly regained control as #15 Lesaux scored a try and the Western went into halftime with a 15-5 lead. 

The Mustangs carried their momentum into the second half. #9 Tsang scored a try in the 43 minutes, followed by a conversion from #10 Bryan, and #6 Voegeli added his second try at the 50 minute mark. Another successful kick pushed the lead to 29-5. 

Brock came back in the final 20 minutes, with #11 French scoring three tries to cut the deficit to just four points.  

The game ended 29-25 in favor of Western. 

Looking ahead to tougher matchups in the season, McLeod said the focus will be on sharpening up: "Sometimes we get a little overconfident when we don't have any business being cocky. Brock wasn't going to go away, and they gave us a good run." 

Western secures its first home win of the season and will now prepare to face Guelph Gryphons next Saturday.