Cal rugby

Indeed, the Bears forced the Bruins to tap out on Saturday morning, winning 59-7 — and later forced the Cal Maritime Keelhaulers to tap out 109-0.

The Aggies canceled the second-stringers' reserve-grade match at the last minute. This is a fairly big impediment to the team’s development.

This tournament surely was a test of the Bears’ character. But more than that, it was a test of how well the Bears could adapt and overcome adversity.

Cal varsity rugby team has steered the ship toward Treasure Island for the second round of the West Coast 7s tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

Some takeaways from Cal rugby’s preseason opener? On the one hand, it was a rocky start for the more experienced guys. On the other hand, the underclassmen surpassed expectations.

The sun got even brighter for the Cal faithful Sunday afternoon as the trophy rose in the hands of senior flanker and captain Nic Mirhashem for the Bears’ sixth title in seven years.

“I remember every second,” Paylor says. “At first, it was just terror, just sheer terror. It’s like you’re in a nightmare and can’t wake up. I closed my eyes, hit the ground, woke up, opened my eyes and I was paralyzed.”

Following the tight win over Arizona, Cal closed things out in the final Sunday, albeit by a slightly wider margin, securing the title with a 19-5 win over UCLA.

Over the weekend, the Bears will fight to stay perfect at the West Coast 7s in Treasure Island after tallying a combined 6-0 record in San Luis Obispo two weeks ago with two different teams: one built by underclassmen and the other predominantly upperclassmen.

“It’s really good to be back out there,” Mirhashem said. “At the end of the day, it was the first tournament and a good head start, but after that we just need to get back to work.”