Texas A&M clinched the Red River South with a difficult 19-5 victory over a tenacious University of Texas team.

Texas held the lion's share of possession and territory in the first half, and scored a try inside of six minutes, but was unable, after that, to converted considerable pressure into points. The Texas A&M Aggies, meanwhile, had trouble in the scrums and couldn't win their own lineouts, and yet managed to score three tries.

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Texas opened the scoring after a mistake by A&M - a pass back into the 22 led to a clearance kick that went out on the full. That brought the Texas lineout back inside the A&M 22, and from there the Longhorns mauled it, before flanker John Cullinan broke away and beat two defenders to touch down in the corner.

Cullinan had a solid game and was named the UT player of the match. After that try, A&M was back putting Texas under pressure, but not for long. With flyhalf Andrew Simmers putting the ball deep into the A&M 22, Texas was often able to steal the A&M throw-ins and launch attacks. But superb A&M defense held them out, with flanker Andrew Marsh and scrumhalf Justin Brown making key steals for the Aggies.

"Our guys defended like heroes today," said Texas assistant coach Peter Malcolm. "But credit to A&M, they defended really well and kept us in check out wide."

Key defensive plays from Texas also got them out of trouble. Lock Joseph Jancaus and No. 8 Robert Hughes were superb in the lineout and stole some A&M throws at important moments.

So, finally, it happened for A&M. With Texas attacking about 15 minutes into the game, A&M center Braeden Hood pounced on a loose ball and popped it to scrumhalf Justin Brown, who was outstanding all day. Brown took off for about 30 meters before offloading to his support. 

That support came in the shape of tighthead prop James Graham, who showed impressive speed to get to midfield for Brown's pass, and sold out his body to offload to No. 8 George Lehmann. The loose forward then passed to Taylor Whistler on the wing, who finished a 75-meter movement that took about 16 seconds.

That made it 5-5, and the game remained that way until the final seconds of the first half. A defensive blitz from A&M coupled with a low pass to Simmers forced a knock-on, and from that scrum the Aggies worked their way closer and closer. Off a tap penalty Brown spun it wide and Hood set up Lehmann, who stretched over. Ross Navarro hit the extras for a 12-5 lead that seemed somewhat improbable.

"Texas is a good team," said A&M head coach James Lowrey after the match. "Our guys needed to respect that. We needed to accept the emotion that comes with this game but try to take some of that adrenalin out of it and play more as a team."

In the second half, A&M had much more of the territory, but still the Aggies couldn't win their set piece on a regular basis.

"We couldn't get that ball out to our backs for the full 40, really," said Hood, who added that scoring that try at the end of the first half "was crucial. It really lifted the boys' spirits."

Pounding away inside the Texas 22, A&M finally broke through. This time Hood took a flat pass from flyhalf Seth Robinson and was off. He was halted by fullback Quinlan Sweeney, but Brown was right on his hip to take the offload and split through two more defenders to score by the posts. Navarro converted, and A&M had a 14-point cushion at 19-5.

Texas came close a couple more times, and even mauled it over the line, only to be held up. But the Longhorns, having learned a lot about how to compete at this level, had a couple of small skill breakdowns hurt them. Jancaus, Cullinan, and Hughes led the effort in the forwards, and Riasat Salam played a brave game at scrumhalf. Michael Jones was their go-to man in the backs.

For Texas A&M, it was a difficult game, but one that did the job. They hurt Texas on turnover ball and on the outside, with Brown, Lehmann, and Hood leading the way. And while Texas might be been a little unlucky, the Aggies know they left some tries unclaimed, too.

Finishing 7-1 in the Red River South, the Aggies now have booked a place in the conference final against Baylor.

Texas A&M 19
Tries: Whistler, Lehmann, Brown
Convs: Navarro 2

Texas 5
Tries: Cullinan