California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Saint Mary's *
Rugby Bears Beat St. Mary's, 60-34
4/10/2011 12:00 PM | Rugby
April 10, 2011
MORAGA, Calif. - California defeated Saint Mary's Sunday on Pat Vincent Field, leading most of the match as the Golden Bears built a 38-point lead before their nine-try effort ended with a 60-34 win over the Gaels.
No. 8 Danny Barrett, wing Dustin Muhn and fullback Blaine Scully scored two tries each as the Bears (22-0, 6-0) clinched a spot in the national postseason. Cal will face the No. 1 or 2 team from the Mid-South region in a national quarterfinal May 7 at a venue to be determined.
The Gaels got on the board first when fullback Max Heath kicked a 15-meter penalty in the second minute, but Cal tied it at 3-3 two minutes later when flyhalf James Bailes connected on his 30-meter attempt.
Scully scored his first try three minutes after that, followed in the 14th minute by Muhn's first, which came on a second-phase attack that saw three forwards in the line putting the ball through their hands.
Gaels No. 8 Joe Brophy's unconverted try and Heath's try and conversion tied the contest at 15-15, but Muhn and Bailes added tries for the Bears before halftime to put Cal up by 12 at the break.
Cal scored four unanswered tries to blow the game open in the second half, leading by 53-15 after outside center Seamus Kelly's score at minute 61, and though Saint Mary's battled to score three of the final four tries, the match belonged to the Bears.
"We knew they would be scrappy and they were," said co-captain Derek Asbun. "We struggled a bit in the first half to match their intensity in the rucks, but that became one of our strengths in the second half."
"Great preparation as we approach the postseason," said Bailes, who finished 6-for-9 on conversions in addition to his try and penalty kick to contribute 20 points to the contest. "We knew we'd have to play some scramble defense and there was a high level of physicality. Coach Clark told us to keep our shape and make it a game of rugby."
Following the First XV, a reserve-grade contest ended with Cal beating Saint Mary's by the score of 46-12.
The Rugby Bears have two more matches in their regular season, traveling to UC Santa Cruz on Sunday, April 17, followed by a trip to San Luis Obispo to play Cal Poly on Saturday, April 23, with both kickoffs at 1 p.m.
The Scoring Timeline vs. Saint Mary's:
02:00 SMC (Max Heath) 3
04:00 James Bailes 3
07:00 Blaine Scully 5
14:00 Dustin Muhn 5, 2
22:00 SMC (Joe Brophy) 5
33:00 SMC (Max Heath) 5, 2
35:00 Dustin Muhn 5
40:00 James Bailes 5, 2
Halftime: California 27, Saint Mary's 15
48:00 Danny Barrett5, James Bailes 2
49:00 Tom Rooke 5, James Bailes 2
61:00 Seamus Kelly 5, James Bailes 2
65:00 SMC (Nick Wallace), (Garrett Brewer) 2
68:00 SMC (Garrett Brewer) 5, 2
72:00 Blaine Scully 5, James Bailes 2
76:00 SMC (Andrew Cook) 5
Final Score: California 60, Saint Mary's 34
The Team vs. Saint Mary's:
15. Scully, 14. Muhn, 13. Kelly, 12. Gallinger, 11. McTurk, 10. Bailes, 9. Ring, 1. Deterding, 2. N. Barrett, 3. Besser, 4. D. Hyjer (Daly @ 62:00), 5. R. Hodson, 6. Asbun ©, 7. Rooke, 8. D. Barrett (Law @ 60:00)
