BERKELEY – California rugby continues its road swing this week, with the Golden Bears set to contest a match against Utah in Salt Lake City on Friday night. The PAC conference matchup will kick off at 5 p.m. MST from the McCarthey Track & Field.
 
Cal (8-1, 2-0 PAC) will play its third contest of a four-game road swing that began with last weekend's trip to Arizona for matches with Arizona and Grand Canyon. The Bears took down the Wildcats 85-10 on Feb. 17 by way of 13 tries by 10 different players. Pat Deely, Oliver Newall and Will Shankland each contributed two tries while Kealan O'Connell went 10-for-13 on conversion attempts to lift Cal to victory.
 
The Bears claimed their second victory of the road trip on Feb. 19 when Cal rolled past Grand Canyon 74-7. Joe Kirsten had a hat trick and Evan Weigold logged a brace of tries to help the Bears record the win.
 
Cal gave 32 student-athletes time on the pitch in Arizona and 24 different players got the call to the Bears' starting lineup between the two matches. The Bears will aim to rotate their lineup again this week against the Utes in an effort to give competition opportunities to more players on the roster.
 
Cal and Utah last met on Feb. 18, 2023, in Berkeley, with the Bears turning in a home victory thanks to 19 tries by 11 different players. Only two student-athletes from the Bears' first 15 have since graduated, with the majority of players in the contest still members of the current roster. Kirsten and Mack Fell both had three tries apiece and Cal's defense held Utah to two penalty kicks to have the scoreboard show 119-6 in favor of the Bears at the final whistle.
 
The last time Cal visited Salt Lake City, the Bears posted a 68-0 shutout over the Utes. Nine different players scored 10 tries in the Friday night matchup, including current co-captains Charlie Walsh and Will Shankland. The Bears dominated the first half, scoring seven unanswered tries and Nate Salter going 7-for-7 on the extras. Utah fought back in the second period and had their share of run of play, holding the Bears to only three tries, two of which Jack Casey converted on.
 
Utah (1-2, 0-1 PAC) looks to build upon the momentum of its first victory of the season last weekend. The Utes hosted Utah State and put up a 46-8 final score to secure the home victory. Earlier this season, the Utes took road losses to UCLA (84-5) on Jan. 27 and Grand Canyon (50-5) on Feb. 3.
 
Cal is expected to put more new faces into the starting lineup this week in combination with some players who already have first-15 experience. In the forwards, freshman Bryan Bogne will likely get the call in the No. 3 shirt while sophomore JP Vinter will be the other prop. Junior Toby Wu will be likely to earn his first call to the starting XV, and freshman Talae Tuimaunei is also expected to see action as a flanker. Caleb Tomasin is the anticipated selection at scrumhalf, working on his development at the position after featuring on the wing several times this year.
 
In the backs, sophomore Newall is expected to anchor the team as the fullback. A handful of freshmen are also likely to get the call-up, including Emmett Cook, who leads all first years with his five games played this season, and Nate Comiskey, who has scored five tries in three games played, the most of any freshman. Griffin Rudy is also likely to see his first varsity action of the year.
 
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