A year after winning its 26th national championship in 32 years, the Cal rugby team found itself without a postseason to play in.
Choosing to forego the postseason it had played in for over three decades, the Bears withdrew from USA Rugby in December 2011, citing concern with the umbrella organization’s “competitive direction.”
So this year, along with several of the most dominant rugby programs in the country, the Bears are forging a new path.
The Varsity Cup, as the competition is known, features just eight teams this year, but it includes all the teams that have won national championships under the aegis of USA Rugby in the last 25 years.
The leap to the new postseason was a bold one. Saturday’s 10:30 a.m. skirmish with Notre Dame in Annapolis, Md., will be the first gauge of whether it was a move that paid off for Cal (19-0).
“I think the postseason format’s going to be more challenging than what you’ve had in the past,” said Cal coach Jack Clark. “You’ve got the winners of 31 of 33 national championships and a lot of teams that have perennial final four teams … So we have a very challenging postseason.”
The inception of the Varsity Cup has forced teams across the country to choose between two simultaneous postseasons, a battle that seems skewed to favor the newer version in the long run.
Although USA Rugby’s postseason will feature more teams this year, its talent pool is dwindling. The Varsity Cup has skimmed off the top teams in college rugby — namely Cal, BYU and Air Force. Those three teams have accounted for every national championship since 1987.
Of the other five schools in the tournament — Dartmouth, Central Washington, Navy, Notre Dame and UCLA — none will be a pushover. The tournament’s lowest seed, No. 8 UCLA, finished second in the PAC Rugby Conference this year.
“We’re guaranteed the first round, and that’s it,” said junior Tiaan De Nysschen. “Last year, we didn’t have the playoff as an option, and I think that was an extra motivator for some guys to get some extra work in.”
Although No. 7 seed Notre Dame isn’t likely to present much of a challenge to No. 2 seed Cal at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the matchups in the next two rounds could be as tension-filled as any match Cal has played this year.
Should the Bears advance to the semifinal, they will host the winner of Saturday’s Dartmouth-Navy matchup in Strawberry Canyon. If the Bears make it to the final, they would most likely take on BYU on their home field in Provo, Utah.
In spite of the fact that two national champions will be crowned this year, the Varsity Cup’s slogan is an unambiguous one: American Rugby’s National Collegiate Championship. It’s a slogan the Bears have taken to heart.
Senior captain Seamus Kelly, when asked whether the Bears considered the Varsity Cup the national championship, had a one-word reply:
“Yes.”
Chris Yoder covers rugby. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @christiancyoder.