BERKELEY – California rugby continued its unbeaten streak in XVs action as the Golden Bears collected a 36-7 win over UCLA Saturday afternoon in Berkeley. Five tries were scored by as many Cal players in the victory and Cormac Saint went 4-for-5 on conversion attempts and added a penalty kick to lift the Bears to victory.
 
"UCLA was stout that entire match, credit to them," Cal Head Coach Jack Clark said. "I thought the players from both teams delivered a good contest. The 30-plus penalties between the two teams chopped the match up a bit, but it was a beautiful day in Strawberry Canyon."
 
Cal's strong set piece led to the first score of the day, when the Bears won an attacking lineout and mauled it in. Cade Crist carried the ball past the tryline from the back of the maul to give Cal the lead seven minutes into the contest.
 
The Bears remained on the attack and seven minutes later, Rand Santos managed a gap around the 50-meter line and stepped past all of UCLA's defenders to dot down a score in the corner of the tryzone.
 
Another breakaway run set up Cal's third try, when Oliver Newall maneuvered the ball into scoring territory before offloading to Emmett Cook on the wing. Cook's speed sent him well past the last Bruin defender and he touched it down between the posts to extend the Bears' lead. Just as the first half came to an end, Cal was awarded a penalty and took three more points off Saint's boot to make it 24-0 at the break.
 
Cal stayed on the attack and struck early in the second period. The forward pack grinded out a few phases before sending the ball out to Jack Byszio on the wing to touch down another Bear try.
 
The Bruins worked their way into Bear territory after the restart, and Cal drew a yellow card penalty as UCLA inched towards the tryline. Just a few meters out from the tryzone, the Bears managed to stop the Bruins, despite being a man down, and get a turnover to regain possession. Cal worked back down the field within striking distance of the UCLA tryzone but drew another yellow card to leave only 13 men out on the pitch. Cal continued to string together a series of attacking phases and eventually found an open Max Threlkeld who added another try to the scoresheet.
 
Cal was on UCLA's tryline several more times without scoring, turning over the ball once and being penalized on a few other instances. With only three minutes left in the contest, UCLA worked down into Cal territory and won an attacking lineout just outside the 5-meter line. After a few phases, the Bruins inched across the tryline for their only score of the day.
 
Cal returns to Witter Rugby Field next weekend for two matches. The Bears will take on Grand Canyon Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. PT before hosting University of British Columbia at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16. Tickets for both contests can be purchased online in advance.
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal vs. UCLA
7:00 – Cade Crist 5, Cormac Saint 2
14:00 – Rand Santos 5, Cormac Saint 2
36:00 – Rand Santos 5, Cormac Saint 2
40:00 – Cormac Saint 3
Half: Cal 24, UCLA 0
42:00 – Jack Byszio 5, Cormac Saint 2
65:00 – Max Threlkeld 5
77:00 – UCLA 5, UCLA 2
Final: Cal 36, UCLA 7
 
Starting XV:
1. Tom Dixon 2. Cade Crist 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Seamus Deely 5. Byron Finley 6. Dom Paga 7. Bryan Bogne 8. Ieremia Ieremia 9. Cormac Saint 10. Rand Santos 11. Jack Byszio 12. Michál de Beer 13. Max Threlkeld 14. Emmett Cook 15. Oliver Newall
 
Substitutions:
Oliver Kirk (50:00), Oliver Teague (69:00), Alex Vieira (71:00)
 
 
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