June 23, 2011
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BERKELEY - 2011 Cal co-captain Blaine Scully became the 48th Golden Bear all-time to make a full international appearance with the U.S. National Team as the Eagles defeated Russia, 32-25, in the bowl final of the Churchill Cup June 18 in Worcester, England.
Selected to join the squad last week, Scully earned praise for his play from U.S. head coach Eddie O'Sullivan. "Starting at fullback in his first test game after being called in as a late injury replacement was a tall order," O'Sullivan said. "After a nervous start, he grew in confidence as the game developed and finished really strong."
Against Russia, Scully was joined by four former Rugby Bears on the USA team in wing Colin Hawley, hooker Chris Biller, No. 8 Louis Stanfill and prop Eric Fry. Together, they increased to 505 the number of all-time international appearances on the national 15s team by Cal players.
The next international tests for the national team are against Canada, with meetings August 6 in Toronto and August 13 in Denver, and Japan on August 20.
After these matches, the United States will compete at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which commences for the Eagles on September 11 against Ireland at Stadium Taranaki in New Plymouth, New Zealand. The U.S. team also has Australia, Italy and Russia in its pool.
A replay of the USA-Russia match is available at UniversalSports.com for a fee of $4.99.
