March 20, 2016
Cal Bears Fall To UBC T-Birds
Photo: Peter Fukumae
Cal Athletics Press Release: Match 20, 2016
VANCOUVER, Canada – California was beaten Sunday by the undefeated British Columbia Thunderbirds, 50-3, ending the 2016 “World Cup” series.
The Golden Bears (11-2, 3-0 PAC) could not get into a sustained rhythm against their formidable foes as the T-Birds (16-0) recorded seven tries and held Cal to one penalty kick, which was struck by fullback Harry Adolphus in the 14th minute.
In weather conditions that were cool and calm but wet, the Bears knew they had to be precise. From the onset, however, Cal could not dictate the run of play and found itself on the back foot for most of the match. Seven different Thunderbirds recorded tries as UBC took the series that dates back to 1921.
“Full credit to the Thunderbirds. As the scoreline indicates, they were the better team today by a fair stretch,” said head coach Jack Clark. “I know our guys are disappointed, but beating an undefeated team at home was never going to be easy. This said, I think we felt we could have played better and will need to do so to close out the season on a positive note.”
With the “World Cup” series completed, the Bears now set their sights on a PAC Rugby Conference crown March 26 in Utah, where the Utes will be the final test standing between Cal and its fourth straight conference 15s championship.
The regular season ends Wednesday, March 30, in Steuber Rugby Stadium at Stanford, where a mixed side of frosh-sophs and reserve Bears are expected to be selected for match for the Scrum Axe against the Cardinal at 6 p.m.
The Penn Mutual Varsity Cup Rugby Championships kick off April 9 and culminate May 7 with the national championship final, after which Cal will turn back to the Olympic style of the game at the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship June 4-5, when it will play for its fourth straight national title in 7s ahead of the return of rugby to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
The Scoring Timeline vs. British Columbia
08:00 UBC (Cali Martinez) 5, (Brock Staller) 2
11:00 UBC (Charles Thorpe) 5, (Brock Staller) 2
14:00 Harry Adolphus 3
27:00 UBC (Andrew Coe) 5, (Brock Staller) 2
37:00 UBC (Brock Staller) 3
Halftime Score: British Columbia 24, California 3
48:00 UBC (Cully Quirk) 5, (Manar Kukhn) 2
64:00 UBC (Theo Sauder) 5, (Adam McQueen) 2
77:00 UBC (Connor Hamilton) 5, (Liam Murphy-Burke) 2
80:00 UBC (Alex Mascotte) 5
Final Score: British Columbia 50, California 3
The Team vs. British Columbia
15. Adolphus, 14. Coleman, 13. A. Salaber (Thornton @ 57:00), 12. Milne (A. Salaber @ 57:00), 11. Dunne (Honens @ 68:00), 10. R. Webb, 9. Boyer, 1. Walsh (Sullivan @ 59:00), 2. Bush (Haynes @ 73:00), 3. Vrame, 4. Kondrat (Damas @ 3:00, Kondrat @ 16:00), 5. Zerbino (Sweet @ 70:00), 6. Robles (N. Salaber @ 48:00), 7. Mirhashem, 8. Gaffney (Robles @ 48:00)
