After traveling across the country last week, the Cal rugby team will be back at the friendly confines of Witter Rugby Field Saturday afternoon.
Not only will a win against the No. 6 seed Naval Academy advance the No. 2 Bears (20-0) to the finals of the Varsity Cup National Championships, but Cal will also have a chance to close out its first season back at home with an undefeated record.
And for a team that played the 2011 and 2012 seasons completely on the road, it has been a welcome return. So far, the team is 12-0 at home, with its closest outcomes coming in its last two matches.
“It’s been tremendous to be back here,” said Cal captain Seamus Kelly. “This is our home. Every time we run on this field with the fans and the championship banners, we are reminded of what’s come before us and the responsibility and the tradition we are a part of.”
Success for the Cal rugby team at home is nothing new. In fact, no player on the current Cal roster has ever lost a 15s match at home.
The last time the Bears lost to an opponent at Witter Rugby Field was March 3, 2007, to the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club.
And the last time Cal lost at home to a collegiate rugby team? April 3, 2004, to Cal Poly.
Despite Cal’s success, Saturday’s 2 p.m. match against Navy could be different.
The Midshipmen are coming off a 32-0 upset win over Dartmouth in Annapolis, Md., a victory that followed Cal’s win over Notre Dame last weekend.
After Cal head coach Jack Clark watched Navy play, he is expecting a tough match from the opposition.
In their history, the Bears have yet to lose to Navy, and the last time the two teams met in the postseason, Cal defeated the Midshipmen in the national collegiate semifinals in 2007. That year, the Bears went on to win the national championship.
“The Naval Academy team is comprised of a bunch of the most organized, buttoned-up disciplined, fit, team-oriented guys you can ever imagine,” Clark said. “How are we going to do when we play against a group of men who are of that caliber? Traditionally we’ve done well. But we don’t take that for granted.”
Clark was also impressed by Navy’s scrumhalf, No. 9, and flyhalf, No. 10, who he said possessed the ball for the majority of Navy’s offensive possessions.
“I thought they were were the two best 9s and 10s in the competition,” Clark said. “And a couple of the best I have seen all season.”
Combine that with uncertainty over injuries to Cal’s Andrew Battaglia, Russell Webb and Jared Braun, who did not travel to Annapolis last weekend, and the match could be tight.
But either way, the Bears can take solace in the fact of where the match is being played.
“There is nothing better than playing here at home,” said Cal hooker Grant Hyjer. “Coming back here and being able to go out with a bang would be a really awesome day.”
Stephen Hobbs covers rugby. Contact him at [email protected].