The University of Utah traveled to Berkeley on Saturday with the opportunity to post a win that might give the Utes the Pac-12 title. It was not to be as the California Golden Bears, perhaps awakened by their close victory over UCLA the week before, dominated the match in downing Utah 82-5.
Cal improved its record to 11-1 and controlled the match from start to finish. Outside center Harry Adolphus scored three tries for the Golden Bears. The Utes’ lone try came at the 26-minute mark of the first half when Utah got inside California’s 22 meter line for the first time and Danny Christensen scored from his scrum-half position. It was Homecoming Day for Cal.
The Utes will now try to put this game behind them as they prepare to play Arizona in St. George, Utah, this coming Saturday in another Pac-12 match.
Eagles ready for busy year
The United States’ Eagles 15s, which conducted a spring camp between Feb. 26 and March 1, are preparing for a busy year that will include a tour of South America, the Pacific Nations Cup and the Rugby World Cup in England.
Head coach Mike Tolkin invited 33 players to the spring camp in Florida. Included in this group is former Ute rugger Mike Cullen, who earned his first cap last fall with the United States’ side. Cullen is currently playing for the Seattle Saracens.
BYU ranked No. 1; Utes check in at No. 7
Rugby Today came out with its college rankings on Feb. 24. BYU was ranked first followed by California and Life. St. Mary’s took the fourth spot and Central Washington fifth. All five schools were undefeated in the United States, with Cal’s only loss to British Columbia. Army was ranked sixth, Utah seventh, and Davenport, Arkansas State and Kutztown rounded out the top 10.
Utah high schools ranked
With the Utah high school rugby season starting on March 7, the Goff Rugby Report put out its high school rankings this past week.
In the Single School Rankings, Utah’s Snow Canyon came in ranked sixth and Herriman is ranked 11th. Sacramento Jesuit is first followed by Penn (Indiana), Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), Xavier (New York), and Greenwich (Connecticut). In the High School Club rankings, the Royal Irish (Indiana) are at the top followed by Danville Oaks (California), the San Diego Mustangs, and the Kansas City Junior Blues. Two Utah teams, United and Kau Toa, are ranked 11th and 25th, respectively.
College rugby scores
California defeated Cal Maritime 62-16 on Wednesday prior to their Saturday match with Utah. Over the weekend several of the top-ranked college teams collided in tight matches that saw 6-0 BYU defeat previously unbeaten St. Mary’s 32-28 and undefeated Life edge Davenport 28-25. Other scores: UCLA over Arizona 29-24, San Diego State over UC Santa Barbara 25-13, Wheeling Jesuit over Navy 25-19, Middle Tennessee over Memphis 82-10, Central Florida over Florida International 38-0.
Two weekends ago: Arizona State over Arizona 34-15, UC Davis over Nevada 44-10, Chico State over San Francisco State 69-0, Stanford over Sacramento State 43-17, Santa Clara over UC Santa Barbara 60-8.