Feb. 5, 2012

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Cal Varsity Rugby on Twitter

TEMPE, Ariz. - California beat Arizona State, 59-7, Sunday on nine tries by six Golden Bears. Sophomore fullback Jake Anderson had a hat trick, junior outside center Seamus Kelly notched a pair of tries and senior flyhalf Alex Aronson made 8-for-9 conversions.

Cal made six changes to its starting lineup following Friday's win at Arizona. An early injury to prop Tanner Mohr provided Lyall Davenport with his most extensive playing time this season. Sophomores Kenny Bruzzone and Tiaan De Nysschen started in the back row with match-day captain Danny Barrett. Freshman Michael Bush got another taste of first-side rugby when he spelled De Nysschen in the second half.

The Sun Devils' try in the 52nd minute is only the second given up by the Bears (9-0) so far in 2012. Cal ended its two-match visit to the desert 160 minutes further into the team's development.

"Our performance was good at times over the weekend, but overall uneven," head coach Jack Clark said. "I think we exit this road trip with a much better understanding of what we need to do in order to reach our potential."

Coach Clark added: "It was fantastic to see how college rugby is being grown at U of A and ASU. We were hosted at great facilities, two class stadiums, with the type of event packaging college rugby needs to take the next step. Anthems, PA, scoreboards, good officiating - it was impressive."

Next up for Cal is the latest chapter in the 91-year rivalry with the University of British Columbia at the opener of the "World Cup" series on Saturday, Feb. 18, on Treasure Island.

Beginning in 1921 with a trophy to the winner from the Vancouver World newspaper, the "World Cup" has seen the Bears win 12 of the past 15 series against UBC, including a current streak of five straight in the two-match, home-and-away series.

A westbound traffic closure on the Bay Bridge scheduled for Feb. 18 will force drivers from the East Bay to take the Richmond or San Mateo bridges across the Bay and approach Treasure Island from San Francisco. The Route 108 bus from San Francisco's Caltrans station near the Embarcadero is another option, with fans able to access it from either side of the Bay by taking BART to the Embarcadero.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Arizona State:

17:00 Danny Barrett 5

24:00 Seamus Kelly 5, Alex Aronson 2

28:00 Jake Anderson 5

Halftime: California 17, Arizona State 0

53:00 ASU 5, 2

61 Jake Anderson 5, Alex Aronson 2

65:00 Jake Anderson 5, Alex Aronson 2

68:00 Seamus Kelly, Alex Aronson 2

73 Paul Bosco, Alex Aronson

77:00 Jack O'Berine, Alex Aronson

80:00 Ahmed Chehade, Alex Aronson 9 Final Score: California 59, Arizona 7

The Team vs. Arizona State:

15. Anderson, 14. Tucker, 13. Kelly, 12. Harrington (Smith at 75:00), 11. Maloney (Chehade at 61:00), 10. Arsonson, 9. Bosco (Ring @ 77:00), 8. Barrett ©, 7. Bruzzone (O'Beirne at 59:00), 6. De Nysschen (Bush @ 66:00), 5. Daly, 4. Coleman 3. Deterding, 2. Hyjer (Wrobel @ 57:00), 1. Mohr (Davenport @ 05:00)