Rivalry in action: The men's rugby teams from Saint Mary's and the University of California, Berkeley battled for possession and field position throughout their March 28 match. / Photo by James Fleischman
Gaels Enter Rugby Postseason as Number 2 Seed, Falling to Bears in Fierce Showdown
The back-and-forth match on March 28 was a showcase of rivalry and determination for Saint Mary's and the University of California, Berkeley. The match ended in Cal's favor, 66-35.
After a clash of the titans on March 28, the Saint Mary’s Gaels (11-1-0) fell to the Cal Bears (9-0-0) 35-66, a result that hands Cal the top seed in the West and sends the Gaels into the postseason as the number 2 seed.
As Cal received the opening kickoff, they were immediately met with heavy pressure from the Gaels, who looked to break through early. They did that after a penalty against the Bears allowed Oli Cline to score a penalty goal to put the Gaels up 3-0 in the fifth minute.
Cal answered almost immediately, scoring two tries over the next six minutes to put the Bears ahead by 9. Despite the deficit, the Gaels’ offensive engine kept running, producing two Iosefa Toia’ivao tries on the wing and a Cline penalty goal to swing momentum back in favor of Saint Mary’s.
As the back-and-forth nature of the first half continued, Cal found a breakthrough in the 30th minute with a try. The Gaels responded right away as Nate Deegan powered over off a maul just a minute later. However, a late first-half try from the Bears in stoppage time gave Cal a narrow 26-23 lead heading into the break.
The second half opened with a costly mistake for Saint Mary’s, as a mishandled kickoff allowed Cal to capitalize instantly and extend the lead to 33-23. From there, the Bears began to take control. Tries on the left wing and off a dominant maul stretched the margin, while quick restarts and sharp execution in open play kept the Gaels on their heels.
Saint Mary’s showed flashes of resilience, highlighted by another maul try from Deegan in the 63rd minute, but Cal’s pace and precision proved too much. The Bears continued to pile on, scoring multiple late tries to put the game out of reach. Still, the Gaels had the final say, as Izaiah Garrido-Ramirez Ramsey broke through down the middle in the closing moments to cap the scoring. The final whistle blew with Cal securing a 66-35 victory.
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Despite the loss, Saint Mary’s finishes the regular season strong and will enter the playoffs as the number 2 seed in the West. The Gaels will look to regroup quickly and make a deep postseason run with another shot at the Bears potentially looming.
