Post by Aaron Gibson on May 7, 2006 15:41:45 GMT -5
(Disclamer, I am a graduate of Cal...)
It was a match that figured to test Cal's dominance of collegiate rugby. Test, it did -- but as usual, the Bears were up to the task.
The Bears held off a late charge by a physical, talented BYU team, winning their third consecutive national title Saturday with a 29-26 victory in front of 4,250 spectators at Stanford's Steuber Rugby Stadium.
Cal (22-1) has won 22 national titles in the past 27 years, and this may have been one of its most difficult challenges. Though Cal was the tournament's top seed, second-seeded BYU came in as the No. 1-ranked team, unbeaten in 11 games and stocked with big, physical players whose average age is 24.
"I thought we had it the whole way,'' Cal coach Jack Clark said with a laugh. "I though BYU was fantastic. It was pretty clear that they would be a huge physical challenge. We were really trying to tackle those guys and it was pretty hard to get them on the ground. It was a brave performance by our guys. This team boxed above its weight today."
Cal pushed out to a 29-12 lead early in the second half before surrendering 14 straight points to BYU, the Cougars' final try and conversion taking place with 4:24 left. BYU got one last line-out near the Cal goal just as the clock was winding down.
The Bears clung to the lead despite a late BYU push, and Clark admitted he was holding his breath, waiting for the final whistle.
Cal lock Louis Stanfill, the game's most valuable player, said holding one's breath wasn't an option on the field.
"We knew this was going to be a barnburner,'' Stanfill said. "This wasn't going to be won by 20 points, it was going to go down to the wire. It came down to the last minute, and you have to just put your guts on the line."
Stanfill scored one of Cal's four tries in the first half, a run up the middle. The Bears also got tries from Robert Weedon, Scott Kidd and Jason Lee.
BYU coach David Smyth said his team was disappointed and he called Cal's effort "awesome."
"These were two teams who knew they were in a rugby game today,'' Smyth said. "I know there's been talk about our guys being older, more physically mature, but any objective observer can see they were bigger and more physical."
Cardinal women repeat: The Stanford women's team captured its second straight Division I women's title over Penn State in thrilling fashion when Cardinal flanker Victoria Folayan scoring the game-winning try during injury time to give the top-seeded Cardinal a 15-12 victory.
Folayan ran 10 meters down the left flank following a free kick.
"It was a Kobe Bryant play, that's what we're calling it,'' said Stanford coach Jonathan Griffin. "I told Victoria I thought she was going to get one chance today and she waited 80 minutes for it and she took it. It took guts to step up and want the ball like that and that says a lot about her."
After scoring 45 points in Friday's semifinal win over Navy, points were much harder to come by for Stanford against Penn State, the third seed. But Griffin was happy with his team's defensive effort.
"We were committing suicide with so many penalties, and we were playing too close to our own goal,'' Griffin said. "But I thought our defense was magnificent. Ultimately, I think the best team did win, but I thought they played us to a tee."
Penn State had taken the lead 12-10 on a try by flyhalf Anna Hosford 11 minutes before the end of regulation. The game featured five lead changes. Stanford's Mae Ryan scored twice.
Briefly: Third-seeded UC Santa Cruz beat top-seeded Plymouth State 22-10 in the Division II women's title match. In the Division II men's championship, sixth-seeded Coast Guard beat top-seeded Northern Colorado 17-12.
It was a match that figured to test Cal's dominance of collegiate rugby. Test, it did -- but as usual, the Bears were up to the task.
The Bears held off a late charge by a physical, talented BYU team, winning their third consecutive national title Saturday with a 29-26 victory in front of 4,250 spectators at Stanford's Steuber Rugby Stadium.
Cal (22-1) has won 22 national titles in the past 27 years, and this may have been one of its most difficult challenges. Though Cal was the tournament's top seed, second-seeded BYU came in as the No. 1-ranked team, unbeaten in 11 games and stocked with big, physical players whose average age is 24.
"I thought we had it the whole way,'' Cal coach Jack Clark said with a laugh. "I though BYU was fantastic. It was pretty clear that they would be a huge physical challenge. We were really trying to tackle those guys and it was pretty hard to get them on the ground. It was a brave performance by our guys. This team boxed above its weight today."
Cal pushed out to a 29-12 lead early in the second half before surrendering 14 straight points to BYU, the Cougars' final try and conversion taking place with 4:24 left. BYU got one last line-out near the Cal goal just as the clock was winding down.
The Bears clung to the lead despite a late BYU push, and Clark admitted he was holding his breath, waiting for the final whistle.
Cal lock Louis Stanfill, the game's most valuable player, said holding one's breath wasn't an option on the field.
"We knew this was going to be a barnburner,'' Stanfill said. "This wasn't going to be won by 20 points, it was going to go down to the wire. It came down to the last minute, and you have to just put your guts on the line."
Stanfill scored one of Cal's four tries in the first half, a run up the middle. The Bears also got tries from Robert Weedon, Scott Kidd and Jason Lee.
BYU coach David Smyth said his team was disappointed and he called Cal's effort "awesome."
"These were two teams who knew they were in a rugby game today,'' Smyth said. "I know there's been talk about our guys being older, more physically mature, but any objective observer can see they were bigger and more physical."
Cardinal women repeat: The Stanford women's team captured its second straight Division I women's title over Penn State in thrilling fashion when Cardinal flanker Victoria Folayan scoring the game-winning try during injury time to give the top-seeded Cardinal a 15-12 victory.
Folayan ran 10 meters down the left flank following a free kick.
"It was a Kobe Bryant play, that's what we're calling it,'' said Stanford coach Jonathan Griffin. "I told Victoria I thought she was going to get one chance today and she waited 80 minutes for it and she took it. It took guts to step up and want the ball like that and that says a lot about her."
After scoring 45 points in Friday's semifinal win over Navy, points were much harder to come by for Stanford against Penn State, the third seed. But Griffin was happy with his team's defensive effort.
"We were committing suicide with so many penalties, and we were playing too close to our own goal,'' Griffin said. "But I thought our defense was magnificent. Ultimately, I think the best team did win, but I thought they played us to a tee."
Penn State had taken the lead 12-10 on a try by flyhalf Anna Hosford 11 minutes before the end of regulation. The game featured five lead changes. Stanford's Mae Ryan scored twice.
Briefly: Third-seeded UC Santa Cruz beat top-seeded Plymouth State 22-10 in the Division II women's title match. In the Division II men's championship, sixth-seeded Coast Guard beat top-seeded Northern Colorado 17-12.