Cal Bears Host Autumn Rugby 7s

Oct. 20, 2015

Cal Bears Host Autumn Rugby 7s

Photo: Cal Athletics

Doug Coil

Cal Bears Press Release: Anton Malko, Oct. 20, 2015
“BERKELEY – California continues its fall preseason with a curtain-raising home opener when the Golden Bears host the Autumn 7s Saturday, Oct. 24, on Witter Rugby Field.

The 16-match event kicks off at 11 a.m. with Santa Clara against the Bears Varsity, while a separate side for the Blue & Gold comprised of freshmen and sophomores takes on Claremont Colleges at noon.

Cal’s varsity side continues pool play against Nevada at 12:30 p.m. and San Francisco State at 2 p.m., while the Cal frosh-sophs face UC Davis at 1:30 p.m. and Cal Poly at 2:40. The cup final begins at 4:30 p.m. to cap the day in Strawberry Canyon.

Admission to the event is free for all Cal students. Adults are $10; seniors 65 and over, and youth ages 12-17 are $5; children under 12 are also admitted free of charge.

The Autumn 7s offers the Rugby Bears the opportunity to play on their home pitch as the program prepares to host the PAC 7s Rugby Championship two weeks later on Nov. 7-8.

“By also fielding the frosh-soph side, it allows us to get some more minutes of action for the whole of the sevens quad,” added head coach Jack Clark.

At Cal’s preseason opener October 10 in the West Coast 7s, the reigning national 7s champions won all four of their matches, including a 29-14 decision against UC Davis in the cup semifinals and a 53-0 victory over Arizona State in the cup final, finishing the event in San Luis Obispo with the best scoring differential and most tries scored. Four student-athletes made their 7s debut for the Bears in that tournament, and more are sure to do the same Saturday in Strawberry Canyon.

The Bears aim to continue their trend of improvement and experience as they approach the PAC 7s, where Cal will be vying for its fourth straight conference 7s crown, and will need to play crisp, clean rugby at the Autumn 7s to further that goal.

Cal will follow its fall 7s slate with spring 15s beginning in January, competing in the Varsity Cup National Championships in April and May prior to the Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s in June before next summer’s Olympic Games mark the return of rugby as medal sport for the first time since 1924.”