For the Cal rugby team, 2013 was a season of redemption. Last year, the Bears failed to make the playoffs, suffered two losses for the first time since 2009 and played all their matches on the road. It was not a normal season for the 26-time national champions. “A lot Read More…
The Cal rugby team isn’t accustomed to losing championship matches. Just last month, the Bears were defeated on a last-second drop-kick in the finals of the Varsity Cup against Brigham Young University. But it didn’t take long for the Bears to return to the top. In the championship match of Read More…
The comeback kids always hit their stride in the second half. Twenty-one wins were forged on halftime adjustments — tweaks that turned those lingering close games into routs. Three weeks ago, Cal trailed St. Mary’s by 15 at halftime only to turn the tables and waltz to an easy win. Read More…
Just when it looked like the Cal rugby team had a chance to pull off another come-from-behind victory in the team’s biggest game of the year, the Bears came up just short. With only seconds left in the match, Brigham Young University’s freshman halfback Jonathan Linehan received the ball from Read More…
The Cal rugby team has not only overcome each challenge it’s faced this year, but it’s bowled through them all with impunitive force. But Cal’s noon matchup against BYU on Saturday won’t be like all the others. Forget the 176-0 walloping of Stanford — Cal’s largest win ever — and Read More…
Seamus Kelly called them “some of the most impressive individuals in the nation.” Danny Barrett called them “big, strong, thick guys who are going out to protect our country.” Even Cal coach Jack Clark called them “the most organized, buttoned-up, disciplined, fit, team-oriented guys you can ever imagine.” The Cal Read More…
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 Read More…
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 Read More…
Look at all the variables, and the Cal rugby team’s Saturday matchup against St. Mary’s has all the ingredients of an upset. First, the Gaels (11-1) are the best team the Bears have faced all season. Undefeated against collegiate competition, they’ve made a mockery of their schedule thus far. Bolstered Read More…
It wasn’t pretty, but the Cal rugby team’s 51-29 win over the University of Utah on Saturday was historic. The Bears clinched the inaugural PAC Rugby Conference title and hosted homecoming at Witter Rugby Field for the first time in three years. But the memorable afternoon did not mask the Read More…