| Sign Up | Google+

Cal Rugby Open Thread: National Semifinal vs Arkansas State

Stay connected for news and updates

4778854_medium

via grfx.cstv.com

Time: 5 PM PDT
Online: Live video on UStream; Live scoring on Twitter.

Jack Clark's Golden Bears are two wins away from a 25th rugby national championship, and one win away from a possible title rematch with the BYU Cougars squad that snatched the prize away from them last year. But first they must deal with Arkansas State. And don't let the bland school name full you; their team is stocked with international flavor.

Arkansas State is maybe the most intriguing team in the entire tournament. First-year coach Matt Huckaby inherited a team from his father that was built from nothing. South Africa was a primary building block, but the Huckabys have made an effort to market worldwide.

"Over the years we've developed an international pipeline," Huckaby said. "We have a couple of Japanese guys coming in next year too, and we have one from Korea. ... We like to blend international-born players with American-born players so we can create a diverse environment."

An effort to increase international enrollment at Arkansas State coupled with almost no Arkansas high school rugby fostered this development effort, and it's clearly worked.

Should be a tough matchup! Let's see if the Bears can claw their way into Saturday's national championship game!

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Recent Posts

The Next Read

There are 30 Comments. Load Now. Loading

Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.

C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read

R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next

Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read

Comment Settings

Live comment alert: Hide it!

Comments for this post are closed.

tracking_pixel_5351_tracker