May 2, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO - Cal claimed its ninth consecutive national rugby championship with a 36-5 win over Penn State Sunday.

On a team where the forwards have lead all season, it was the backs who shone in the title game. Freshman flyhalf Matt Sherman scored the team's first try and created two more, while centers Mike Freeman and Ryan Fried also crossed the line for Cal, along with fullback John Buchholz.

Cal had reached the final after a physical encounter with Navy in Saturday's semifinal, in which the Bears eventually prevailed 57-20. "We had to play two very different types of game to beat these teams," said Cal head coach Jack Clark, "and I couldn't have asked for more from the players. We had to be more mindful of our defense yesterday, but today we could use all our attacking options."

All season, one of those options has been No. 8 Shaun Paga. Although hampered by a hamstring injury, he set up Sherman's 4th minute try. His run from the base of a scrum on Penn State's 5m drew the Nittany Lions' defense and created space for his flyhalf. Lock Matt Kane gets an assist too, as his steal of a Penn State lineout ball led to the scrum.

The game proceeded to see-saw for the rest of that half, with Cal squandering two tries to balls lost forward inches from the line, and Penn State making several fruitless forays deep into Cal's half. The next points came after 240-lb inside center Freeman drew three Penn State defenders near halfway, making room for Sherman to scamper a good 40m downfield, a movement finished by hooker Kirk Khasigian.

Undaunted, Penn State pulled themselves back into the match with a try moments before halftime. After stretching Cal's defense to the right, the Nittany Lions came back to the left for flyhalf John McGeachy to score in the corner, making it a 12-5 game at the half.

But the Penn State team that had dispatched Army, 57-20, in its semifinal, had no answer to the Bears' relentless offense after the break. A penalty quickly taken by scrumhalf Charlie Masters caught the defense slightly disorganized, and flanker Kort Schubert charged through a gap to make it a 17-5 game only four minutes into the period.

Five minutes later, Sherman put Ryan Fried into space, one of several big runs for the outside center, and fullback Buchholz finished the try. Fried's own turn came next. He dived into the corner after Khasigian and Paga mustered an impromptu backline attack from the Penn State 22m.

By midway through the second period nearly every attack was making significant yardage. After some broken play, inside center Mike Freeman found himself with the ball about 10m out from the Nittany Lions' line and simply bulldozed his way over, pushing two Penn State defenders the entire way. With a 31 point margin, the Bears' attacking fervor eased a little and the final fifteen minutes were scoreless.

The win makes it 16 of 20 titles for Cal since the National Collegiate Championship began in 1980, and extends the program's remarkable domestic record; the Bears have lost to an American team only once since 1990. The game was also a repeat of the 1997 championship when Cal beat Penn State, 41-15.

In the play-off for third and fourth place, Navy outsized and outlasted Army, posting a 44-22 victory.

               1st     2nd    Final
Cal             12      24      36
Penn State       5       0       5

Scoring First Half: 4th minute, Matt Sherman try (5) & Andy Tamayo conversion (2); 25th min., Kirk Khasigian try; Injury Time, Penn State try. Second Half: 4th min., Kort Schubert try; 10th min., John Buchholz try & Tamayo conv.; 16th min., Ryan Fried try; 25th min., Mike Freeman try & Tamayo conv.

Cal Record: 16-1-0