PROVO, Utah – California rugby fell to Brigham Young on Friday morning in a 50-14 contest that concluded the Golden Bears' regular season.
 
"Congratulations to BYU, it seems flattering to say we were second-best," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "Big jump in competition level for many of our boys and it was apparent. It's difficult to get beaten that bad, but we're appreciative of the Cougars and grateful to have the experience under our belt."
 
The Bears sent a new lineup to battle the Cougars in Utah's snowy conditions and high altitude. Cal held off BYU until the 13th minute when the Cougars first touched down in the tryzone, although they failed to convert the score. Cal put together multiple strong attacking phases, but were unable to find the tryline. BYU scored twice more and added the extras to pull further ahead, 19-0, at the break.
 
BYU extended its advantage with two more tries in the beginning of the second half. The Bears persisted, finally taking their turn at adding to the scoreline in the 52nd minute. Cal pushed its way into Cougar territory and sent its backline on the attack, swinging the ball out to senior Alex Brundage on the right wing, who dotted down in the tryzone for the Bears' first points. Fellow senior Nate Salter successfully converted to make it 33-7.
 
The match continued to move at a quick pace and the Cougars added three more tries, only managing to convert on one. Sophomore Kealan O'Connell came in as a reserve-replacement at the 73rd minute and had the last word of the contest when he found space between the BYU defense and ran a ball in at minute 77. Salter added the extras to go 2-for-2 on the day and give the Bears 14 points in the end.
 
Cal now turns its focus to the D1A National Collegiate Championship playoffs. The Bears are seeded third in the West region and will host No. 6 seed Cal Poly for the first round at Witter Rugby Field next Saturday, April 8. Information on the kickoff time and where to watch the match will become available soon.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal vs BYU
13:00 – BYU 5
21:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2
26:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2
Half: BYU 19, Cal 0
42:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2
52:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2
57:00 – Brundage 5, Salter 2
63:00 – BYU 5
68:00 – BYU 5, BYU 2
72:00 – BYU 5
77:00 – O'Connell 5, Salter 2
Final: BYU 50, Cal 14
 
Starting XV:
1. Clayton Seastrand 2. Matt Vranesh 3. Josh Mao 4. Pat Deely 5. Miles Malone 6. Brett Dowgiewicz 7. Jon Puckett 8. Hugo Schreuder 9. Caleb Tomasin 10. Nate Salter 11. Will Shankland 12. Mack Fell 13. Michal de Beer 14. Alex Brundage 15. Oliver Newall
 
Substitutions:
40:00 – Solomon Williams
44:00 – Ryan Marshall
48:00 – Nick Leusing, Michael Puckett
73:00 – Kealan O'Connell
 
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