The Cal rugby team entered its matchup against Cal Poly last year riding a 63-game win streak, having won every game since the end of 2009 while picking up two national championships in the process.
Mindful of the imbalance between the teams, the Mustangs asked Cal head coach Jack Clark to rest his starters for the matchup.
In the three games the teams had played since 2008, the Bears had put up a total of 229 points on Cal Poly, taking them down by an average margin of 62 points. Clark, ever-mindful of the need to keep the game competitive, agreed to start a team consisting of mostly reserves.
The result was a heart-shattering loss — Cal’s first in nearly three years. Down 15-5 in the fourth quarter, the Bears fought back to take a five-point lead in the closing minutes, only to see it evaporate on a game-winning conversion with no time remaining.
Clark isn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
“We’ll put a good team on the field,” he said. “We’re going to put a better team on the field.”
Even with an ultra-competitive matchup looming on Feb. 16 against British Columbia, the Bears (8-0) don’t see this Saturday’s matchup against Cal Poly as a trap game. In fact, if there was ever a trap game, it was Wednesday night’s 62-6 home win over Cal Maritime, a mediocre effort from Cal’s freshmen and sophomores which was belied by the final score.
Perhaps the Bears were looking ahead to Cal Poly with revenge at stake.
“You get hyped up,” said freshman Patrick Barrientes. “Especially here with a winning tradition, we take losing pretty seriously, and we can’t wait to prove ourselves this Saturday.”
Cal will be the heavy favorite in Saturday’s 2 p.m. matchup at Witter Rugby Field, but the Mustangs (4-0) are off to a promising start. Their 28-12 win over San Diego State earlier this month was their first win over the Aztecs in seven years.
Cal Poly also played Cal three times in the fall 7s season. Though the Bears won all three matchups, the Mustangs played them competitively in the Stanford 7s Tournament on Oct. 13.
“We played them a few times in 7s this fall, and they gave us a run there,” said sophomore Michael Bush. “So they’re a good team.”
But despite the Bears’ relatively minor struggles with their frosh-soph and 7s teams, Cal’s varsity squad has had an unprecedented start to the spring season.
Since the reopening of Witter Rugby Field, the Bears have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 421-6, making solid PAC opponents like Arizona State and UCLA look like cupcakes.
The Bears’ ability to focus on the game at hand has been a huge factor in their success. They’ll need that mentality on Saturday against the Mustangs.
“I don’t think the guys have any ‘look ahead’ in them,” Clark said. “I thought last weekend the varsity did pretty well, and I’d like to get (them) another crack at it before (British Columbia)’s in town.”