Brown Men’s Rugby opens Ireland tour with 35-20 win over UL Bohemian RFC
| 1H | 2H | T | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRO | 21 | 14 | 35 |
| UL | 5 | 15 | 20 |
Brown Men’s Rugby struck first, struck often, and never gave up control Monday night, March 23rd, 2026, in Limerick, Ireland, opening its Ireland tour matches with a 35-20 victory over UL Bohemian RFC. The decisive stretch came in the opening 12 minutes, when Brown scored three tries and added three conversions to build a 21-0 lead that held up through every push from the host Bohs.
Marco Lapierre '28 set the tone almost immediately. Just 35 seconds after kickoff, he broke down the short side for the match’s first try, and Tito Edjua '27 converted for a 7-0 lead. Brown doubled the margin at 7:15 when the forwards forced a turnover on a Bohs attacking lineout, leading to Lapierre’s second try out wide. Edjua again added the conversion. At 11:30, Brown turned another set piece into points when Edjua finished out wide on phase 2 from a Brown lineout, assisted by Reid Spence '28, then converted his own try for a 21-0 advantage.
The Bohs found a way to plug the dam and answered at 16:20, grinding over after a series of goal-line pick-and-go carries to trim the deficit to 21-5 by halftime. The home side carried that pressure into the second half and scored again at 39:00 on a short ball at the front of the lineout in close, narrowing the Bears lead to 21-10 and briefly putting Brown under sustained pressure.
Brown’s forwards helped restore order midway through the second half. At 46:15, Ethan Liew '28 scored from close range on a strong pick-and-go, and Edjua’s conversion pushed the lead back to 28-10. UL Bohemian answered again at 54:00 when its fullback took a nifty pullback pass into a gap in the Brown defence, cutting the margin to 28-15.
Any momentum swing lasted only a minute. On the ensuing restart, Bertie Deen '29 pounced on a Bohs knock-on and raced in for Brown’s fifth try at 55:00, with Edjua converting to make it 35-15. UL Bohemian added the final score at 58:00 on a quick tap from a scrum penalty in scoring territory, but Brown had already delivered the response that settled the match.
Lapierre finished with two early tries, Edjua accounted for a try and five conversions, and Brown’s pack created several of the game’s most important moments, especially the lineout turnover that led to the second score and the close-range work that produced Liew’s try. Edjua's perfect 5/5 kicking performance proved instrumental in the favorable result, while the Bohs' kicker failed to convert any of their 4 attempts. After roaring out front and then matching UL Bohemian’s late pushes, Brown left Limerick with a five-try, 35-20 result to start the trip.
The Bears are now headed north, to Galway, where they'll matchup with Corinthians RFC on the evening of Friday, March 27th.
