With the North Dakota State football team on a bye this week, students will be looking for a contact sport to watch. Look no further than the NDSU men and women’s rugby clubs. The teams will be hosting their “Pack the Stands” event for their first home games of the season.

The action will kickoff with the women playing St. Cloud State at 11:00 a.m. The men follow with their match against St. Johns at 1:00 p.m. and the B-teams playing after that at 3:00 p.m.

All the games will take place at the NDSU rugby fields, which are located just north of the Wellness Center, and on the west side of 18th Street.

The teams have already been in action. The Lost Boys took a shot at defending Division II national champions, University of Minnesota-Duluth. The Lost Boys stuck with the Fighting Penguins for the opening half, before Duluth took over in the second half.

They have also competed at the All-Minnesota tournament. During the preliminary round, the Lost Boys went undefeated. Unfortunately, a comeback attempt came just short in the semifinals, as they lost to the University of Minnesota.

In a preseason poll, NDSU, who plays in the Norther Lights conference, was ranked No. 32 in the nation for Division II in the Goff Rugby Report Rankings. Also ranked from the conference are Winona and UMD. St. Johns is also in the Northern Lights, so this will be considered a conference game for the Lost Boys.

As for the women, they compete in the Northern Lights as well. For them, Saturday’s matchup will be against a conference opponent. The conference includes NDSU, University of North Dakota, Winona, Mankato, UMD and St. Cloud State.

So for students looking for a fun way to spend a weekend, head out to the rugby fields and pack the stands.