MORAGA, Calif. – California rugby was edged 38-31 by Saint Mary's in the final contest of the regular season. The Golden Bears will now take a 10-3 overall record into the postseason.
 
"Tip of the cap to the Gaels. We appreciate them and congratulate them," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "I am proud of our boys. We played a lot of good rugby. That said, we need to heal up and get back at it. Our best rugby is still ahead of us."
 
Cal took an early advantage with a try at minute six that would give the Bears a lead they would hold onto for 47-straight minutes. The forward pack went to work and grinded out a few phases on the goal-line before swinging the ball out to junior Joe Kirsten on the wing, who dotted down in a rainy downpour for the first score of the day.
 
The Bears stayed on the attack and took only seven minutes to light up the scoreboard again. Sophomore Michál de Beer broke a few tackles and carried the ball into scoring territory before offloading to a trailing senior Evan Weigold, who beat the Gaels' last defender to the tryzone and touched down between the posts. Junior Kealan O'Connell added the extras to make it 12-0 in favor of the Bears.
 
Saint Mary's put its first points on the board next, dummying its way in between the uprights and converting successfully to collect seven points. Cal answered, capitalizing on a yellow card infraction on the Gaels that put them a man down. The Bears won an attacking lineout and mauled to the five meter line before stringing together a couple of attacking phases on the tryline. Sophomore scrumhalf Solomon Williams picked the ball up from a ruck and tucked it in his chest before punching into the tryzone for a Bear try.
 
The Gaels then took advantage of a ball handling error by Cal and chipped it forward to set up an attacking lineout in Bear territory. They won the lineout and sent the score in, converting successfully to begin closing the gap.
 
As time in the first half was expiring, the Bears had the last word when Williams picked up a loose ball on a Gael skill breakdown. He pitched it out to de Beer, who sent it quickly to Weigold on the wing to set it down in the left corner. O'Connell converted to give the Bears a 24-14 lead at the intermission.
 
After the halftime break, the Gaels had back-to-back tries to get within two points of the Bears. They first set up a scrum at the five meter line and sent it out the back to dot down a try, which was then converted. The next try came a couple of phases after an attacking lineout when the Gaels carried in a score they would not add the extras on.
 
Cal worked its way into Saint Mary's territory and the forwards carried hard to get within striking distance. Williams retrieved the ball from the breakdown and sent it out to Kirsten who spotted a gap and ran past a couple of Gaels to touch down his second try of the day. O'Connell converted and the Bears widened their lead.
 
Saint Mary's then leveled the score at 31 with an unconverted try at minute 67. The two teams traded possession in the final 13 minutes, but the Gaels managed to edge ahead when their flyhalf picked the ball from the back of a ruck on the goal-line and carried it in for a try. Saint Mary's converted to make it 38-31 going into the final three minutes of the match. Cal was on the attack and created a good scoring opportunity in Gael territory, but in the end was unable to score again before time expired.
 
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The Bears will now await their postseason fate, with playoff seeding expected to be announced early next week by D1A. The first round of the playoffs is slated to take place on April 6.
 
Scoring Timeline
Cal vs. Saint Mary's
6:00 – Joe Kirsten 5
13:00 – Evan Weigold 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
20:00 – Saint Mary's 5, Saint Mary's 2
31:00 – Solomon Williams 5
35:00 – Saint Mary's 5, Saint Mary's 2
40:00 – Evan Weigold 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
Half: Cal 24, SMC 14
44:00 – Saint Mary's 5, Saint Mary's 2
47:00 – Saint Mary's 5
62:00 – Joe Kirsten 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
67:00 – Saint Mary's 5
76:00 – Saint Mary's 5, Saint Mary's 2
Final: Saint Mary's 38, Cal 31
 
Starting XV:
1. Emilio Shea 2. Cade Crist 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Ryan Marshall 5. Tom Dixon 6. Hugo Schreuder 7. Bryan Bogne 8. Alex Aguero 9. Solomon Williams 10. Rand Santos 11. Evan Weigold 12. Mack Fell 13. Michál de Beer 14. Joe Kirsten 15. Kealan O'Connell
 
Substitutions:
Oliver Newall (54:00), Clayton Seastrand (66:00), Miles Malone (Blood Substitution – 71:00-76:00)
 
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