Cal Stays Perfect, Tops British Columbia

After watching Zachary Triplett leave the match against Saint Mary's with an injury, the Cal rugby team realized it could be without its senior scrumhalf against British Columbia.

But after watching Triplett play Wednesday against the Thunderbirds, it almost seemed as if he was never injured.

With the Bears leading by three towards the end of the first half, Triplett launched a high box kick from the sideline, and sophomore winger Dustin Muhn chased the ball downfield and sprinted for the try zone, capping a 14-0 run for Cal en route to a 35-17 triumph over British Columbia at Witter Rugby Field.

"Trips was great today," coach Jack Clark said. "He had one perfectly good hamstring and one that wasn't worth anything. And Dustin Muhn limped through scoring a try, and he made a ton of tackles.

"It's that time in the season when everyone's carrying a little injury, and you can let that define you, or you can decide that you're going to get on the other side of it."

The victory gave the Bears (13-0) an edge in the 87th World Cup Series, a two-match exchange between the schools that concludes March 26 in Vancouver, Canada.

But gaining that edge didn't come easily.

Against arguaby its most formidable opponent of the season, Cal notched its only try of the entire second half in the final minute, when senior flanker Rikus Pretorius touched down to give his team a 33-17 lead.

For much of that half, however, the Bears were not in control of the ball.

"We had a game plan of slowing down the play to run out the clock, and I thought we did that quite effectively," Pretorius said. "The goal was to not play loose rugby, and that's probably why we didn't score as many points in the second half. We knew if we didn't keep the clamps on tight that they could come back into the game."

Along with its defense, Cal compensated for its futile second-half attack with three kicks by junior flyhalf Keegan Engelbrecht, including two after the break.

The Bears managed to outscore the Thunderbirds (1-1) by one in the second half, but they were held to their lowest point total in a full-length match this season.

"Coming into it, we knew it was going to be tough, and I think that's one of the reasons we all look forward to it," Pretorius said. "We all cherish this match very much. It's a really good stepping stone ... because that was the toughest game we've had all year."

Despite the back-and-forth grind of the second half, three first-half tries sealed the deal for Cal.

In the 27th minute, junior fullback Colin Hawley put the Bears ahead 8-0 when he caught a pass from senior center Gary Golding and outran several British Columbia defenders for a score.

Then came Cal's 14-0 run.

"It's a tough team to play against," Thunderbirds coach Spence McTavish said. "If you make a mistake, they make you pay."

Two minutes after junior winger Eduardo Lopez touched down, Triplett regained possession at midfield and followed Muhn's instructions on his box kick.

"It's usually something we do off lineouts," Triplett said. "Dustin Muhn and I had a word before. He said 'the guy's playing deep, so put it a bit shorter,' and it worked out pretty well. Dustin made a good play on the ball.

"I couldn't get up to my full pace, but everyone filled in and helped me out."

Tags: WORLD CUP