BERKELEY - The Golden Bears are ready to host 33 matches over two days this weekend in the Olympic 7s version of rugby, with 11 of the Pac-12 universities represented at the PAC Rugby 7s Championship tournament Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8-9, on Witter Rugby Field.
Saturday starts at 9 a.m. with Pool A top seed and No. 2 nationally ranked California (9-1) against Stanford. Twenty-two matches later, the day concludes at 4:40 p.m. with Arizona vs. Arizona State. Please check important road-closure information here to ensure your smoothest travel from and to the venue from Saturday evening through Sunday morning as routes are adjusted due to the Berkeley Half Marathon that takes place Sunday.
For complete venue, schedule, ticket and matchup information, click here.
It will be a marathon for all the teams vying to emerge from the PAC 7s Rugby Championship with the conference title: four matches per team on day one, followed by an early return the very next morning to play in two knockout rounds culminating with the championship final at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Bears' 15-player roster for the tournament has been named and head coach Jack Clark, along with every Cal fan, hopes it will carry the team to its highest goal of the fall 7s season – winning the conference crown.
“I think we have done mostly well this fall in the first two tournaments, but we haven't made a secret of wanting to defend our conference championship this weekend,” said head coach Jack Clark. “There are a lot of very good 7s teams in the conference so we have our work cut out for us.”
Captain Jake Anderson leads the team into the tournament with two tries scored so far this fall, for a current career total of 33 tries in 7s, second only to Seamus Kelly (41) for all-time 7s tries at Cal.
The Rugby Bears will also feature junior Russell Webb, who was named national player of the week last week after his performance at the Battle in the Bay. Webb has made 10 appearances with 55 points scored (1 try and 25 conversions), both team highs in the current fall 7s campaign.
Tops among the season's try scorers on the selected Cal squad for the PAC 7s Rugby Championship are Anthony Salaber, with seven tries (18 career), followed by Nicklas Boyer, with four of his five on the season (21 career) scored during the Bears' last outing at the Battle in the Bay 7s.
Andrew Battaglia has added six appearances to his all-time leading total of 57 so far in the autumn 7s schedule and will look to add to his total of three tries this season (27 career, No. 3). Alec Gletzer (8 of 19 career appearances made this fall) has been on fire in the forwards and Paul Bosco (7 of 36) is showing good form in the backline, while Patrick Barrientes (5 of 26) and Connor Sweet (7 of 11) have gotten their motors going.
Other selected players for the PAC Rugby 7s Championship who have multiple appearances so far in the Bears' season are Miles Honens (6 of 8 career appearance this fall), Jesse Milne (6 of 21), Cameron Todd (2 of 17) and James Kondrat (5 of 5), who made a good impression at the West Coast 7s to start the fall season, notching four tries, and will look to regain the form that can make him a force for balls in the air. Freshman Hugo D'Auriol has been selected for a third straight competition to continue his strong start, which has resulted in two tries and four conversions in five appearances.
Making his first appearance of the 2014-15 year will be Harry Adolphus, who has returned from injury and brings with him 13 career appearances in four tournaments, with eight tries and 20 conversions (T-3rd all-time at Cal).
It will be the Bears' first 7s contest against Stanford in the long history of both programs and much shorter history of their 7s teams. The Cardinal comes in with a 6-1 fall 7s record, dropping their only loss by one point to Saint Mary's at the Stanford Round Robin Tournament.
Cal is undefeated all-time in 7s against their next two opponents in Saturday's pool play: 2-0 vs. Oregon State, defeating the Beavers most recently at the 2013 PAC 7s; and 4-0 vs. Arizona, blanking the Wildcats at the most recent West Coast 7s.
Arizona State has a win against the Bears at this event, beating Cal, 19-17, in pool play at the 2012 PAC 7s. But Cal has won the last five against the Sun Devils, including a narrow 19-14 pool play win and a 40-12 final victory at the Battle in the Bay.
The Bears (No. 2), Sun Devils (No. 5) and Arizona (No. 14) are three of the five teams at the PAC Rugby 7s Championship currently ranked in the national Top 25. The other nationally ranked participants include No. 3 UCLA, the top seed in Pool B, and No. 17 Utah. Both the Bruins and Utes have defeated Cal before in 7s play, and should the Blue and Gold earn a semifinal slot to start the knockout rounds on Sunday, the Bears could find themselves up against one of these familiar foes. UCLA has won three of its eight meetings with the Bears and the Utes are 2-2 all-time against Cal in 7s.
Fans will be excited to see the same style of rugby that will be played at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games contested for the first time on Witter Rugby Field when the Bears try to win the PAC Rugby 7s Championship for the third straight year. But one thing this exciting code of the sport has shown is that no outcome is predetermined. It's sure to be a showcase of rugby 7s across all 33 matches.
