SALT LAKE CITY – California rugby clinched its third PAC conference win with a 69-22 road victory over Utah on Friday night in Salt Lake City. With their win tonight, the Golden Bears topped the PAC conference with a 3-0 record and improve to 9-1 overall on the season.
 
"We thank Utah for the match and appreciate our boys for another long day," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "Today, it was rugby at the midpoint of our travel day. Our rugby can improve, but there's no doubting the commitment." 
 
Cal was off and running at the first blow of the whistle and the Bears recovered their kickoff deep in Utah territory to set up the first scoring possession of the night. The forward pack went to work and picked-and-jammed their way in just 48 seconds into the contest, with the ball in the hands of freshman Talae Tuimaunei, who collected his first-ever collegiate points with the try.
 
Cal was back on the attack on the next possession and the forwards once again put in the work with hard carries to get the Bears into scoring position. Senior Caleb Tomasin got the start at his second position, scrumhalf, and picked it from the back of a ruck and stepped past the goal-line for a try. After the restart, the Bears continued to threaten Ute territory and were eventually awarded a penalty try due to a Utah infraction for knocking the ball down.
 
Utah then strung together an attacking phase that set up a scrum in Bear territory. A Ute had a hard carry in for a try and added the extras to put points on the board for the first time. Cal answered with a try by freshman Nate Comiskey five minutes later, but after the restart Utah intercepted a pass and carried it to the 10-meter line. The Utes picked it forward to dot down the team's second try, which they failed to convert.
 
The Bears had the last word in the first half when sophomore Oliver Newall had a long run to carry the ball into Utah territory and set Cal up to send the forwards to work on the goal-line. Junior Toby Wu, who got his first collegiate start tonight, pushed his way in for a try and Mack Fell added the extras on a pair of scores to make it 31-12 at the intermission.
 
Cal was in better form in the second half and managed to put up six more tries. Dom Paga stripped the ball from a Ute and punched it straight in for a try between the posts. After the restart, freshman Emmett Cook joined his fellow freshman tryscorers, gaining possession and dummying his way past a few Utah defenders before taking off for the tryzone and dotting down a score. Utah nudged another try past the goal-line four minutes later to slightly close the gap.
 
Fell poached the ball from a Ute just a few meters out from the goal-line and walked it in for a try that he then converted. Comiskey then scored his second of the night when the Bears swung it out to him on the wing and he dotted down on the right side. The Utes scored their final try of the night shortly after, slowly working in a ball after a maul to touch down their final points of the night.
 
Cal stayed on the attack and put up two more tries in the last seven minutes of the contest. The Bears swung it out to junior Felix Pollmann, who came off the bench to feature on the wing, who beat four defenders running down the right sideline and carried in a score. Comiskey had the last word, stepping past a few Utah defenders to touch down his third score. Fell and Cormac Saint each had a pair of conversions to make it 69-22 in favor of the Bears at the final whistle.
 
UP NEXT
Cal closes out its four-game road swing next week as the team heads to the east coast to visit Army West Point. The Bears and the Black Knights face off on Saturday, March 2 at 12 p.m. EST.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal vs Utah
O:48 – Talae Tuimaunei 5, Mack Fell 2
4:00 – Caleb Tomasin 5
9:00 – Cal Penalty Try 7
16:00 – Utah 5, Utah 2
24:00 – Nate Comiskey 5, Mack Fell 2
32:00 – Utah 5
39:00 – Toby Wu 5
Half: Cal 31, Utah 12
43:00 – Dom Paga 5, Mack Fell 2
45:00 – Emmett Cook 5
49:00 – Utah 5
53:00 – Mack Fell 5, Mack Fell 2
65:00 – Nate Comiskey 5, Cormac Saint 2
70:00 – Utah 5
73:00 – Felix Pollmann 5
79:00 – Nate Comiskey 5, Cormac Saint 2
Final: Cal 69, Utah 22
 
Starting XV:
1. J.P. Vinter 2. Lance Hackett 3. Bryan Bogne 4. Toby Wu 5. Ryan Marshall 6. Talae Tuimaunei 7. Dom Paga 8. Brett Dowgiewicz 9. Caleb Tomasin 10. Mack Fell 11. Griffin Rudy 12. Nate Comiskey 13. Emmett Cook 14. Joe Kirsten 15. Oliver Newall
 
Substitutions:
Jayden Flores (Half), David Hause (Half), Felix Pollmann (Half), Cormac Saint (58:00), Roan O'Connell (58:00), Dylan Thygesen (58:00), Quinn Spieker (66:00), Michael Puckett (66:00)
 
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