BERKELEY – California head coach Jack Clark is near the completion of his 36th year at the helm for the Golden Bears. The sixth head coach in the 137-year history of Cal rugby, Clark exited the 15-a-side season this spring with an all-time coaching record of 671-94-5 (.871), and will enter the 2019 Collegiate Rugby 7s Championship in June for the Bears' final event of the year with a record of 169-18-0 (.903) in 7s.
 
A member of U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame and Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, Clark is a recipient of UC Berkeley's Glenn T. Seaborg Award. Also named a Living Legend by the Pac-12 and one of Cal's 10 Most Influential Sports Figures of the 20th Century by the Daily Californian, Clark spoke with CalBears.com about the May 4 national 15s final and the Bears' spring 2019 campaign.
 
CalBears.com: The 2019 rugby season for 15s is in the record books and Cal is the runner-up. What are your overall thoughts?

Jack Clark: Obviously, we are disappointed not to win the final. We had our chances and just couldn't finish off a few opportunities. The opposition deserves credit for that, but our error count was a bit too high and we needed to ring the bell at least one more time.

As for second place, it is part of our team's legacy. I think it's our fifth time coming second in the 15s championship and there's a third place in there somewhere when there was a third-place match. We've been a finalist and played for the championship fairly frequently. There've been handfuls of championships and some second places. Predictively, there will likely be more of both.
 
CalBears.com: The referee had a big impact on the championship match. What are your impressions?

Jack Clark: In fairness it was a close match, so lots of instances have impact. Many such instances don't even involve the referee. I thought the ref was alright. It's a wishful standard, but you always hope the referee is better than the teams, which is arguable, but he was mostly solid. He was omnipresent throughout, whistling a couple dozen plus penalties. I am disappointed in a few big calls and with consistency, but it's a hard job for the best of referees.
 
CalBears.com: Awarded a penalty with under a minute of regulation time remaining, the team opted for a kick at goal, which would have tied the match and sent the game into overtime. What was the decision framework?
 
Jack Clark: The kick was makeable, but not a given, and it was slightly pulled left. Close, but not through. The other option was a kick to the corner for a lineout drive which came with the uncertainty of the kick, gaining possession, a successful drive and the lottery which surrounded officiating on the try line. The decision was to take the penalty kick and win in overtime.
 
CalBears.com: The team itself is very close. Did they grow together as the season progressed?

Jack Clark: Yes, I believe so. This was a very rewarding team for Tom, Mac and me to coach. Our rugby was excellent at times and flawed at other times, but the teamship and commitment were consistently outstanding.
 
CalBears.com: The Student-Athlete Scholar Awards ceremony this week will recognize 25 Rugby Student-Athletes with 10 in attendance to receive honors. How gratifying is this form of recognition to the rugby program?

Jack Clark: We are trying to uphold everyone's expectations of us. The campus has a mantra concerning "comprehensive excellence" and there is an expectation we're chasing excellence in everything we do. We accept this responsibility.
 
CalBears.com: With 15s now behind the team, it's on to the 7s postseason. What are the prospects?

Jack Clark: Well, first we're on to final exams. Then we'll crank up a week's worth of 7s trainings and head to Philadelphia. We were a good 7s team in the autumn. Let's see if we can find that form going forward.
 
CalBears.com: Robert Paylor returned to Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University for the 15s final, marking his first trip back to the scene of his 2017 injury, almost two years ago to the day. Thoughts?

Jack Clark: I have two thoughts. First, how amazing Robert has been in his fight to recover. Just how brave he's been every day for two years battling in recovery, excelling in his academics toward a business degree and being a positive inspiration to everyone in his orbit. He's the most remarkable man to ever wear the Cal colors.

Second, the occasion highlights the cowardice in the USA Rugby administration. Many of the existing staffers, executives and board members were complicit in the coverup, and even the newly joined members of the administration lack the decency to do the right thing. We all earn our legacy. Robert has his and they have theirs.