BERKELEY – The California rugby team heads to Vancouver for a matchup with University of British Columbia on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. PT.
 
The last time the Bears faced off against British Columbia was on Feb. 16 last season in Berkeley - a 49-24 victory for Cal - in their first World Cup series match (originally named after the WORLD Newspaper of Vancouver) since 2020. Returners Max Threlkeld, Rand Santos, Solomon Williams, and Oliver Kirk all scored tries in the match.
 
Cal has not been to Vancouver since prior to the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, where the Bears won the first leg of the series in Berkeley 36-21 before dropping the away leg in Vancouver 31-8. Saturday will be the 10th match between the tams since 2017, with Cal holding a slim 5-4 record.
 
The Thunderbirds are 12-3-1 thus far this season with three victories over B.C. rival the University of Victoria, along with blowout wins against Trinity Western and Universite' de Montreal, and impressive victories over Canadian Premier League club sides Capilano, Westshore, Burnaby Lake, Castaway Wanderers, Meraloma and James Bay.
 
The Bears are coming off a 60-14 victory over UCLA last Saturday. Junior Nate Comiskey led the Bears with three tries while Chris Biller, who came in for Ryan Wenstrom in the 18th minute, added two tries. Seven different players scored tries in the victory, while freshman Oliver Sinclair added five conversions.
 
The Bears lost All-American flanker Bryan Bogne and football crossover Zurich Ashford earlier in the season with season-ending injuries. For this weekend the out list includes Threlkeld, who scored three tries against UBC last season in Berkeley, starting wing Masi Koi, All-American backrow Ryan Wenstrom, senior center Michal de Beer, and lock/backrow swingman Seamus Deely, the latter two having both been in the starting lineup last year verses UBC.
 
"Last weekend we were forced to play some freshman early, as well as several other players out of position – which is mostly fine and part of the seasonal challenge," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "As a result, we didn't play our best rugby, but we did manage to get the victory. However, the Thunderbirds at home in Vancouver are a different kind of challenge and a fixture where you want to field your top side. It will be a very stern test for our boys."
 
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