BERKELEY – The Cal Golden Bears selected two evenly split teams for its doubleheader Saturday on Witter Rugby Field, where California took control of first place in the PAC Rugby Conference with a 44-16 victory over Arizona State, followed by a 73-7 win over Cal Poly.
 
Captain Russell Webb at flyhalf, outside center Patrick Barrientes, and prop Kevin Sullivan anchored the Cal squad against ASU before Webb, Barrientes and other starters were replaced in the second half. No. 8 Drew Gaffney had a hat trick, freshman wing Sam Cusano scored two tries and the Bears (11-0, 3-0 PAC) recorded eight trips to the try zone against the Sun Devils. Arizona State's scoring came on two penalty kicks from flyhalf Alex Walsh and tries by inside center Peter Akele-Ale and scrumhalf Bailey Stringer.
 
"The most important bit is executing," said Webb (2-of-5 conversions), who predicted an intense week of training to come following Saturday, during which the Bears struggled at times to stay sharp. "We've got to execute, whether in the scrum, the lineout or with our hands. That really is going to be the buzzword for next week at training."

Arizona State Head Coach Gary Lane was pleased with the performance of the Sun Devils, who had struggled against Saint Mary's and UCLA.

"A much better team performance," said Lane. "Our defense was solid and the attack structure was controlled. We felt we left 17 points on the field, and had a few opportunities where we needed to support a little better. However, I am proud of the way the guys played, and they should be proud of their effort today."

Twice ASU had the ball over the tryline and lost it forward.
 
The second half of the doubleheader featured a Bears squad shored up by back-rower Connor Sweet and match captain Anthony Salaber, with Salaber off after 25 minutes and Sweet done for the day at halftime as replacements kept the Blue and Gold running well against the Mustangs in an 11-try, 73-7 win. Aidan Flynn was Cal's only multi-try scorer, while the Mustangs got their lone score on a try from their flanker and conversion from their flyhalf.
 
"We have a lot of depth on our team and today was an opportunity that a lot of guys relished," said flyhalf Jamie Howells, who connected on 7-of-10 conversions before yielding to Elliot Webb (1-for-1) to finish the kicking duties against Cal Poly.
 
In other action on Saturday in the PAC Rugby Conference, Utah traveled to Los Angeles, where it split two matches by beating UCLA, 49-8, and losing to USC, 29-5.
 
Next Saturday, the Bears remain on home turf as the British Columbia Thunderbirds make their annual trip across the border for a 2 p.m. kickoff on February 18 in the opening match of the "World Cup" series, a two-contest, home-and-away battle decided by aggregate points that dates back to 1921.

Arizona State looks to their rivalry match with Arizona in two weeks. Cal Poly looks ahead to a visit to Santa Clara in California Conference play next week.