There’s been a lot of talk about how tough the Mid-South Conference is, much of that talk instigated by FloRugby, but it’s true; playing in the Mid-South helps you handle pressure.

For Life University, going into halftime down against Navy was, therefore, not really a big deal.

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“It was one of those deals where we bent a little bit, but we didn’t break,” said Life head coach Colton Cariaga. “We absorbed a lot of pressure from Navy in the first half, and we were behind. But at 11-7 it was anybody’s ballgame.”

And because it was anybody’s game, the early minutes of the second half would be crucial when it came to gaining the momentum.

“We talked about doing a couple of different things once we got into their end that we didn’t do,” said Cariaga. “So at halftime we said, guys, look, we said we’re going to go with this and we’re not doing it, so let’s do it. Then off a couple of errors or kicks that didn’t go to far, we started working some of the things we had been talking about, and it was like bang-bang-bang, three quick tries, and we were in business.”

In the end, Life’s win over Navy came from dominating possession at key points, and working really hard. Neither team backed off, which made for an entertaining game, so Life needed to be clinical.

Yes the Running Eagles benefited from a penalty try that was a little harsh on Navy, but they were on the Navy tryline at the time regardless.

This week against Lindenwood, Life will meet an opponent that has little patience for the Running Eagles’ physical style. The Lions will happily meet them hit-for-hit.

“We’re prepared to play physical rugby,” said head coach Josh Macy last week.

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Alec MacDonald spelled out Lindenwood’s approach last week, and it will serve the team well this week: “We knew it was going to be tight, you know, we’d just figure we’d come out blazing, hard hits, hold the ball, be consistent, that’s what was going to win it.”

Simple as that. These two teams don’t dislike each other, but they don’t like seeing the other get the upper hand.

Against Navy, said Cariaga, Life players "just worked their butts off and laid it all on the line. We knew Navy was going to be good and we know Lindenwood will be really good at what they do."

Get ready.