The University of California hosts the University of British Columbia Saturday in Berkeley in the first leg of a two-game series that dates back over 90 years.

It’s called the “World Cup” named after a now-defunct Vancouver newspaper that sponsored the series, and its roots date back to the years when colleges in California carried the rugby torch while the rest of America embraced football only. UBC established games with many of those colleges, but it’s the matchup with the Cal Bears that has stuck.

While Cal has spent the last 30 years at the top of US collegiate rugby, UBC has been almost as strong in Canada, and the Thunderbirds are often the toughest opposition Cal faces in any season.

“UBC has always been the true status check in the regular season,” said Colin Hawley, who was part of five Cal teams to play in this series, and now will be part of the broadcast team covering the game on Pac-12 Networks. “The first game of the series is always going to be the hardest game on the schedule for Cal.”

That, said Hawley, is because of how tough the Thunderbirds are. UBC plays a mixed schedule against top colleges and men’s clubs. As a result of that, and the traditional way rugby is played in Canada, the Birds bring the physicality like no one else.

“The players coming from UBC will have a certain type of physicality that I don’t see anywhere else in the tackle and in the breakdown,” said Hawley. “I remember going into every Cal-UBC game knowing if I don’t own the contact area, I’m going to get used up and the ball is going to get stolen.”

Younger Cal players learn quickly what’s expected of them in this game.

Cal, meanwhile, brings an organized approach to the game that is legendary. If the Bears find a weakness, they probe that weakness unceasingly until you shore it up, or you fall apart. Few teams have that sort of discipline, and that’s what UBC Head Coach Rameses Langston wants out of the series.

“We have a great regard and enormous respect for the Cal program,” said Langston. “We know this is going to be a great test for us, but also an opportunity. We want to get better game by game, and to do that we need to understand the process of rugby and learn from our mistakes. Cal certainly helps us learn from our mistakes.”

The rhythm of the series is the same every year. Cal has just started its season, but in warmer weather the games have been easier to play. This first leg is played in California. UBC will host the return match in March, which is often a tougher experience for the Bears.

“The old foe is back and they will be as difficult as ever,” said Cal Head Coach Jack Clark. “Their fall 15s schedule puts them a bit ahead of us in an early-February match but that is a familiar situation for us. Whatever we lack in polish we will need to compensate for in grit.”Both teams have a tradition of producing national team players (Hawley being one of them). At present, the USA National Team boasts five former Bears, while Canada has two former Thunderbirds on their most recent roster.

While UBC undoubtedly has the tougher season each year - playing, as they do, some of the strongest clubs in British Columbia - Cal has had the run of the series in recent years. From 2006 through 2013 the Bears won all seven series, sweeping from 2010-2013 (if the teams split the games, total points decides the winner). In 2014, though, things changed. Cal did win the early game in Berkeley 33-24, bringing their winning streak against UBC to nine games. But in March in Vancouver the Thunderbirds spread their wings and won big, 40-3, taking the series 1-1 +28. 

But all that, said UBC’s Langston, is ancient history.

“We’re not going to talk about last year,” he said. “It was nice to win, but we understand what it takes to be a top program, and that means coming into every game with a new slate and a humble attitude.”

Hawley concurs, saying that it’s how you finish this series, and the season, that counts.

“The physicality and hard work they put into rugby is a point of pride, and to beat UBC you need to get it right every time; it’s how you respond that tells the story of your season.”

The T-Birds’ success so far in 2014-15 has included their second straight series win over the University of Victoria for the Wightman Boot, sweeping the Vikes with a 23-19 road victory on Jan. 16 after opening that annual rivalry with a 30-19 win at home. British Columbia has also dispatched several senior clubs in British Columbia, registering wins over Burnaby Lake, Capilano, Vancouver Rowing Club, UBC Old Boys Ravens and the Castaway Wanderers. The only Premier League loss for UBC so far this year was a 22-14 decision at James Bay.

It will be the third outing in a five-match homestand for the Bears, who are averaging 55 points scored per game while yielding only 1.6 ppg to the opposition so far in their spring campaign. Those gaudy numbers will be tested against the T-Birds, who held Cal without a try in their last meeting and will return to Berkeley with a potent veteran lineup that includes the Welsh international Nate Rees at center and the hulking Eric Hunter-James standing at 6-4 on the wing.

Veteran campaigners can be found in the Cal lineup, as well, where co-captains Jake Anderson and Alec Gletzer will lead the backs and forwards in what promises to be an 80-minute test of mettle for both teams. Every point will prove crucial as the victor of Saturday’s match will enter the March 22 rematch in Vancouver with the aggregate advantage from this February clash. The “Cup” is awarded to the team with the better points differential after two matches are complete.

“I heard someone say the Bears will be tested against UBC,” Clark said. “I think it more like we will be chucked into the fire. This said, we can’t wait for the opportunity to compete against them.”

Cal hosts UBC in the “World Cup” Saturday 2pm at Witter Rugby Field. The game will be carried live by Pac-12 Networks. The game will also be available to international viewers in Canada via the Pac-12 Networks Youtube International channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/pac12conf).