Feb. 23, 2013

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LOS ANGELES - The Golden Bears improved to 2-0 in PAC Rugby Conference play Saturday with their 75-22 win over UCLA on the North Athletic Field, outscoring the Bruins 49-0 in a 46-minute span that stretched from late in the first half to almost the end of the contest.

Nine different players scored for California, with second-half replacements Josh Tucker and Russell Webb notching two tries apiece and fullback Jake Anderson amassing 25 points on a try and 10 conversions (10-for-11).

The Bears got the job done with a mixed lineup that contained seven full changes - with starts for sophomores Michael Bush at No. 8 and Nicklas Boyer, Eakalafi Okusi and Andrew Battaglia in the backline - from the team that began the match vs. British Columbia last weekend.

Bruins inside center Race Noeldner intercepted a pass by Andre Coquillard in the second minute and raced 55 meters for a try that was converted by Ben Francis (1-of-4). Boyer poached the ball coming out of a Bruins' scrum three minutes later, leading to Cal's first try by Anderson, whose only missed conversion came on the ensuing attempt from the left touchline into a cool breeze.

"We stuck to it," said Boyer, who suited up in the No. 9 jersey across from his former Jesuit High School teammate Grant Penney. "We had our hands full in the first half but we fought through it. It was a good game at a good venue."

Anderson agreed that UCLA "had some good play though a lot of it was also self-imposed," such as when Battaglia had his nice breakaway down the right sideline negated by an in-goal knock-on two minutes after that. But a try by captain Seamus Kelly soon turned the tide back in Cal's favor and the Bears never trailed again.

Two tries by UCLA winger Sebastian Sharpe and another off a kick-and-chase by wing Martial Chaput accounted for the balance of UCLA's scoring.

California moves to 12-0 overall while UCLA falls to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference, but despite the loss, Bruins head coach Scott Stewart said UCLA was "delighted to be hosting our first-ever PAC Rugby match" and praised the nascent conference's potential for "future growth both as an athletic pursuit and a commercial entity as we work hard to build its structure and appeal."

The Cal reserves also won Saturday, defeating the Bruins, 81-0.

The other PAC Rugby Conference this weekend between Utah and Oregon State was postponed due to inclement weather in Salt Lake City.

The Bears return to Berkeley for a three-match home set, starting with Arizona (3-2, 0-1) in another PAC matchup next Saturday, March 2, at 1 p.m, with a reserve-grade match following the Starting XV.

The following week kicks off under the lights on Witter Rugby Field with a rare Monday night match against Penn State (3-0)-- an even rarer opponent in the regular season -- starting at 6 p.m. Cal then hosts James Madison, which will just be underway with its spring season when it plays Cal in the teams' first-ever meeting Wednesday night at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Canyon.

PAC Rugby Conference Standings

Team			W-L-T		Points
California		2-0-0		10
Utah			1-0-0		5
UCLA			0-1-0		1
Oregon State		0-0-0		0
Arizona State		0-1-0		0
Arizona			0-1-0		0

(Points System: Win = 4 pts, Tie = 2 pts, Loss = 0 pts, Score 4+ Tries = 1 pt, Lose by 7 or less = 1 pt)

PAC Rugby Conference Schedule

Date		Matchup/Result				Location
Feb. 2		California 104, Arizona State 0		Berkeley, CA
Feb. 9		Utah 43, Arizona 10			Las Vegas, NV
Feb. 23		California 75, UCLA 22			Los Angeles, CA
		Oregon State at Utah (Postponed)	Salt Lake City, UT
March 2		Arizona at California			Berkeley, CA
		UCLA at Oregon State			Corvallis, OR
		Arizona State at Utah			Salt Lake City, UT
March 9		Utah at UCLA				Los Angeles, CA
		California at Oregon State		Corvallis, OR
March 30	Arizona at Arizona State		Tempe, AZ
		Utah at California			Berkeley, CA
April 5		UCLA at Arizona				Tucson, AZ
		Oregon State at Arizona State		Tempe, AZ
April 7		Oregon State at Arizona			Tucson, AZ
		UCLA at Arizona State			Tempe, AZ

The Scoring Timeline vs. UCLA:

02:00 UCLA (Race Noeldner) 5, (Ben Francis) 2

05:00 Jake Anderson 5

09:00 Seamus Kelly 5, Jake Anderson 2

17:00 Andrew Battaglia 5, Jake Anderson 2

25:00 UCLA (Sebastian Sharpe) 5

29:00 Seamus Kelly 5, Jake Anderson 2

33:00 UCLA (Martial Chaput) 5

40:00 Danny Barrett 5, Jake Anderson 2

Halftime Score: California 33, UCLA 17

44:00 Eakalafi Okusi 5, Jake Anderson 2

52:00 Michael Bush 5, Jake Anderson 2

63:00 Josh Tucker 5, Jake Anderson 2

65:00 Jack O'Beirne 5, Jake Anderson 2

68:00 Josh Tucker 5, Jake Anderson 2

75:00 Russell Webb 5, Jake Anderson 2

79:00 UCLA (Sebastian Sharpe) 5

Final Score: California 75, UCLA 22

The Team vs. UCLA:

15. Anderson, 14. Battaglia (Tucker @ 40:00), 13. Kelly © (Quimson @ 71:00), 12. Okusi, 11. Shaulis (Lombardo @ 40:00), 10. Coquillard (Webb @ 40:00), 9. Boyer, 1. Mohr, 2. Hyjer, 3. Hurrell (Davenport @ 39:00), 4. Barrett, 5. Coleman (Purdy @ 69:00), 6. O'Beirne (De Nysschen @ 71:00), 7. Gletzer, 8. Bush