Cal Rugby Wins Championship Berth With 56-5 Victory Over Gaels
by Rugby Vet on Mar 20, 2010 4:31 PM PDT
22 comments
Cal's #1-ranked ruggers bid farewell to Witter Rugby Field before a sell-out Homecoming crowd with a near-shutout over #3 St. Mary's College. With the victory, the Bears win a local play-off bye and earn the #2 seed in the upcoming national championships. Cal will meet either Cal Poly SLO or UCLA in Round of 16 play in Marietta, Ga.on April 17.
Keeping the Gaels scoreless for 78 minutes, six Bears touched down for eight tries with senior flanker Derek Asbun and freshman center Seamus Kelly each earning two. Senior Keegan Englebrecht contributed 16 points to Cal's tally with two penalty kicks and five conversions.
Today's win closes out the Bears' local season with a perfect 5-0 record and a 388-point scoring advantage over Stanford, Sacramento State, UC-Davis, Chico State and St. Mary's. Two of Cal's league matches were won by shut-outs, including a 99-0 drubbing of the Stanford Cardinal in the annual Scrum Axe game on January 30.
Overall, Cal's earned a 20-0 record this season, outscoring its opponents by a 15-to-1 margin and improving on last year's late-season pace.
Today's match was the swan song for Witter Rugby Field as the home pitch for Cal's ruggers. Witter will be converted to a practice field through 2013 as Memorial Stadium is renovated and the new Student Athlete High Performance Center is constructed. Cal will play its home games at high schools in the interim.
The Bears won't be idle before the national championships. With three days rest, Cal travels to Vancouver to challenge the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the second stanza of the World Cup. The Bears have a 32-point advantage in the best-score-in-two contest.
While in Vancouver, Cal's Second XV will square off against Pacific Northwest up-and-comer Central Washington University.
Cal's schedule has room for another match on April 3 if an opponent and a pitch can be procured, though pickings will be slim. With a loss today, St. Mary's is now obliged to host a NorCal-Pacific Northwest play-off that weekend to determine if it can earn a #11 seeding in the national championships.
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St. Mary's fans are bad. Really bad.
They’re tied with USC fans in my book. Worse than the loudest of UCLA and Oregon State hotheads that come to Berkeley for football.
I’m not sure which was worse, the female fan behind me who kept screaming “LET’S GO GAELS” the entire game, or the asshat across from me who commended the St. Marys players when they did some rather questionable moves on the field that ended up being penalties.
I’m pretty sure it was the asshat that was worse, but that female’s voice was rather grating on my ears.
None the less, great to see that Cal stomped them after wearing them down. These guys have outstanding stamina to keep playing like they did against such a good team.
"Today's weather, excessively violent with a chance of dismemberment. Tune in later for our 5-day forecast!"
~ Three Dog - Fallout 3
Gentlemanly (-womanly) conduct
It’s often said that rugby is a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen. I’d like to think that’s true. Most of the time, it is.
Of course, that saying applies to the players. Fans are another matter.
nice post and still sorry I missed it
32-point advantage in the best-score-in-two contest
Does this mean the scores of the two games are added? Or each side’s low score is thrown out?
And what’s the poop on home games next year? Berkeley High? At some point they should use St. Mary’s pitch (if they have one, of course).
"I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."- Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti
"What do I want you to do? What are you doing in the National League?"- John McGraw
"117 elements, and still no Stanfurdium"- carp (paraphrased)
Yes ... the scores are added
In the World Cup series, the team with the highest total points over two matches wins the hardware. That means the Thunderbirds will have to fight for a 33-point scoring advantage over the Bears Wednesday.
That’s a tall order.
Nothing’s set in stone about next year’s home venue (or venues). At least as far as I know now.
As for St. Mary’s pitch … yes, the Gaels have one. Pat Vincent Field is actually pretty nice. There’s good seating, an electronic scoreboard, and it’s easy to find (get there early enough and you can even finagle close-in free parking).
If it came down to it, SMC would probably allow Cal to use its pitch. There’s a lot of respect for St. Mary’s on the Cal staff side. Unfortunately, that respect doesn’t always flow back in the opposite direction from SMC’s fans as Swamphunter’s post attests.
nothing a little money can't solve
At least if they adopted SMC it’s relatively close for Cal fans (including the stanfurd fans like Twist that already live there, or nearby).
Do visitors share in the gate, I wonder? I’d think the visiting squads were not so hot on the idea of playing at Emery High School, but I suppose if they had any pull (or the rugby team for that matter) the situation would never have come up in the first place.
I hope they can find some kind of permanent temp solution rather than having to barnstorm for the next years…
"I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."- Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti
"What do I want you to do? What are you doing in the National League?"- John McGraw
"117 elements, and still no Stanfurdium"- carp (paraphrased)
by natteringnabob on Mar 20, 2010 9:17 PM PDT up reply actions
No revenue sharing because ...
… typically, there’s no revenue earned by the Bears’ NorCal opponents. Cal’s the only side that charges admission to its regular season matches.
Cal’s not making a ton of money by charging admission, either. Witter has a capacity of 5,000 seats when both sideline stands and the west try zone stand are set up. If every body paid full boat admission ($8 a head), Cal’s coffers could swell by $40,000 a match. A regular season for Cal normally includes eight or nine home games. Let’s put the number at nine, like last year. Maximum regular season gate, then, is $360,000.
Not every match at Witter is a sell-out, however. There are some mid-week matches or scrimmages against less-than-marquee names that might not attract the usual weekend fan.
To boot, not every fan pays full boat admission. Seniors pay half-price. Cal students and kids under 12 get in free.
I gotta say that even with a full-boat entry fee, Cal rugby is one of the best sports bargains on campus. An hour and a half of first-class athletics in what is arguably the country’s best rugby venue (yes, even including the Farm’s Steuber Stadium; the view across the pitch from the Palo Alto stands is a panorama of traffic on the El Camino; at Witter, it’s Strawberry Canyon), getting greeted by the reserve players and handed an informative program, having food and drink on site (including — gasp! — a beer garden), well, it just doesn’t get any better.
How much do you pay for a football ticket at Memorial? Can you even GET a beer at the stadium? You’re certainly not going to receive a program from team member as you enter the venue, though you CAN buy a churro in the stands.
Anyway, all this is moot for the next couple of seasons. I haven’t heard the pricing discussion yet for upcoming designated home games. Regardless of the capacity of the high school venue(s) selected, none are likely to have Witter’s charm.
More important for some fans: Games at a public school venue won’t feature a beer garden. And you may have to bring a sack lunch. It remains to be seen if you’ll be able to get an Italian sausage sandwich, too.
For the next couple of seasons,
I meant
that SMC or some other school might value the revenue Cal would bring, but maybe they’re not going to charge much, if anything, for these barnstorming games, thus leaving little to split (but still more than the $0 they would get for their own games).
I cannot agree with you more about the value- one reason I’ve been loving Cal baseball is that I wander in at game time, sit right behind home plate, and have paid somewhere between $8 and $0 (they weren’t charging at all last Wednesday). Like some of the more competitive rugby matches like UBC, it’s fantastic to watch some of the best in the country at their sport.
Not to beat a dead horse, but why couldn’t the FB team practice on Kleeberger? I can see it would be impractical to have FB practice at Underhill, but moving the field hockey stuff down there would seem fairly simple, even if it had to be done each day. Hiring two guys and a van seem a lot cheaper than tearing down and rebuilding the rugby pitch.
"I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."- Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti
"What do I want you to do? What are you doing in the National League?"- John McGraw
"117 elements, and still no Stanfurdium"- carp (paraphrased)
by natteringnabob on Mar 21, 2010 8:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Revenue is Everything
There’s a risk to suddenly charging alums and fans at opposing NorCal schools for entry to their home pitches. Blowback likely would be: “What the hell? Just because Cal is playing here, I gotta PAY now?”
Needless to say, there’d need to be a lot of politicking and schmoozing of alums to sell the idea and develop centers of influence.
About the footballers use of Kleeberger:
1) We show our age when we refer to the field as “Kleeberger” rather than “Maxwell Family” (I’m of that age m’self).
2) The obvious reason it won’t happen is money. Football brings revenue - big revenue -- to Cal’s coffers. Rugby don’t.
Still, I’m willing to storm Sandy Barbour’s office and sing “Kumbaya” if it prevent the debauching of Witter. Who’s with me?
by Rugby Vet on Mar 21, 2010 11:16 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good point
and it sounds like the SMC gang is probably best not provoked. Maybe the barnstorming can bring a little more attention to the sport in the region, although at a high cost to the rugby program.
I know about the Kleeberger name change, but I don’t call the Oakland Coliseum the pets.com bowl or whatever it is now either! I’m sure using it wouldn’t cost anything to the FB team, but as you say I’m also sure the Golden Bear who has the gold makes the rules.
and rec’d for “the debauching of Witter”, or at least describing it that way.
"I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."- Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti
"What do I want you to do? What are you doing in the National League?"- John McGraw
"117 elements, and still no Stanfurdium"- carp (paraphrased)
by natteringnabob on Mar 21, 2010 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions
I found there to be no problem with any of the SMC fans I encountered. Perhaps, Swamphunter, you saw a few bad apples.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
I guess so. We did arrive early and get seats on the midfield mark, and so did the St. Mary’s fans that I commented on.
Die hards be die hards I guess.
"Today's weather, excessively violent with a chance of dismemberment. Tune in later for our 5-day forecast!"
~ Three Dog - Fallout 3
by Swamphunter on Mar 21, 2010 12:09 AM PDT up reply actions
When I went to the Stanford game last month, we arrived 20 minutes early and it wasn’t packed at all (tho it later did get jammed). So, this time we arrived on time, figuring it wouldn’t be bad. Line around the block! St. Mary’s fans>Stanford fans.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Indeed ...
There’s ALWAYS a sizable crowd at a SMC-Cal scrimmage. Aside from the geographic proximity of SMC fans, there’s a more well-developed men’s rugby culture among Gaels compared to Stanford.
Part of that, for sure, stems from SMC’s winning ways and the revolving door in the . Stanford coaching office.Sacramento State beat Stanford 24-13 yesterday, closing out the Cardinal season without a play-off berth. Stanford was winless in nine NorCal outings this year, though the Palo Alto side was able to fight to a draw in its first meeting with Sacramento State in February.
As Stanford’s first-year head coach Chris O’Brien mused, "It’s been an interesting year."
We all know the curse about living in interesting times.
Knowing nothing about St. Mary’s, I felt like it must have been a supremely frustrating game for the Gaels. They didn’t kick the ball much, choosing to try to move down the field with sustained possession. A number of times they slowly worked their way close to the try zone, only to lose the ball to Cal, who would immediately kick well downfield and negate many minutes of effort. That and Cal had the speed, power and athleticism to break through their lines for long try attempts, something St. Mary’s just wasn’t capable of doing.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Keegan's got a golden boot ...
Cal’s Englebrecht is a VERY savvy booter of balls, in the set piece as well as on the run. He was particularly effective against UBC in the opener of the World Cup series. It will be shame to lose him to graduation.
If we earned the #2 seed
then who earned the #1 seed in the national championships? Who could possibly have done more?
BYU got #1
Don’t ask me how, though.
"Today's weather, excessively violent with a chance of dismemberment. Tune in later for our 5-day forecast!"
~ Three Dog - Fallout 3
Actually, it's simple ...
The Pacific Coast Rugby Football Union (PCRFU) is entitled to four seeds in the Sweet 16s. The top PCRFU side gets the #1 seed in the championship. The #2 seed goes to PCRFU’s second side.
By rule, these sides pass directly to the Sweet 16 round, getting byes in the PCRFU play-offs. Pacific’s third and fourth berths in nationals (the #11 and #12 seeds) are determined by the outcome of PCRFU play-offs.
BYU, along with the University of Utah, is a Division I member of the Utah Rugby Football Union (URFU), one of three local area unions making up the PCRFU. Cal, along with St. Mary’s, Sacramento State, Stanford, UC-Davis and Chico State make up another PCRFU component, the Northern California Rugby Football Union (NCRFU). The third leg of the stool is the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union (PNRFU), comprised of Central Washington University, University of Washington, Washington State, University of Oregon and Oregon State.
BYU finished its league season when it defeated Utah, the only other Division I school in its union earlier this month. It earned the #1 seed by rule and because the NCRFU and PNRFU rankings still had to be sorted out. Cal’s win over St. Mary’s put the Bears atop the NCRFU, giving it the #2 seed in nationals.
St. Mary’s will now host Pool A of the territorial play-off rounds pitting the Gaels (NCRFU’s #2) against Oregon State (PNRFU’s #3) and UC-Davis (NCRFU’s #3) versus Chico State (NCRFU’s #4).
Pool B, made up of Utah (URFU’s #2), Washington (PNRFU’s #2), Central Washington (PNRFU’s #1) and Sacramento State (NCRFU’s #5) will be hosted by PNRFU.
The Pool A winner takes the #11 national seed, while the #12 slot goes to the victor in Pool B.
What could be clearer?
i think the confusion arises from the fact that Cal is much better than BYU yet we are seeded “below” them
Remember, the enemy's end zone is DOWN!
Well, by any measure Cal IS better ...
… yet BYU DID win the national championship last year. The Cougars started reading the Cal playbook in the latter stage of the final match and dug deeper.
Truth be told, there’s an advantage to being the #2 seed, to challenging the defending champion — it makes the Bears HUNGRY.
Cal’s truly been playing as if it has something to prove this season. Jack Clark has drilled the lads well to concentrate more on defense. To good effect, too. The Bears allowed only nine tries in 20 matches this season.
Now comes the delicate balancing act: Ensuring that the Bears don’t peak too early, nor get banjaxed before they hit the finals.
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