Cal 29, BYU 26
PALO ALTO, Calif. — No. 1-ranked Cal (16-1) held off a late BYU (15-2) surge to capture their 22nd National Collegiate Rugby championship, 29-26 in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday. BYU had its chances at the end of the match, but a key kicking error with three minutes left by captain Salesi Sika cost the Cougars valuable time in their comeback effort.
"I wouldn't say it was disappointing, maybe to some degree," Sika said. "I am just proud of our guys and what they did and with the fans behind us."
More than a quarter of the 4,250 in attendance were cheering the Cougars on.
BYU started the scoring off early in the match with a 50-meter run by Ikani Taumeopeau. The lead changed in the Golden Bears' favor with a try that was set up by recovering the ball against the scrum to make the score 10-7 at the 15-minute mark. The Cougars then got a score by fullback Jeff Hullinger to go ahead, 12-10.
Cal went up for good eight minutes from the halftime whistle to put the score at 22-12 at the break.
BYU was down to 14 men in the first 10 minutes of the second half due to a yellow card by Craig Clark. Cal was able to capitalize on the Cougars being shorthanded with its final score of the match — at the 49th minute — to make the score 29-17.
The next 15 minutes were characterized by a kicking contest for field position, with BYU and Cal trading kicks to keep the Cougars from spreading the ball wide — their biggest strength.
BYU gave Cal a scare with two tries in the last 15 minutes to put the Cougars within three points. The first of the tries was scored by Hullinger, his second on the day. Hullinger made a great 25-meter run with a beautiful step to the inside to put his defender off balance and waltzed into the try area.
Hullinger also set up another try by passing the ball to Vito Qaqa to put the crowd into a frenzy with only five minutes to go in the match.
The Cougars had their chances in the final moments but lost the possession of the ball at the end of the match when Cal fullback Chris Gurecki kicked the ball out of bounds and the referee blew the final whistle.