BERKELEY, Calif. (Cal Rugby plus additional notes) – A depleted Cal lineup continued to play valiantly, if not flawlessly, Saturday on Witter Rugby Field, beating UCLA, 37-3, to claim a share of the top spot in the PAC Rugby Conference.

The Golden Bears (10-1, 3-0 PAC) got six tries from four players, two apiece by scrumhalf Nicklas Boyer and wing William Fuller, and added two conversions from Boyer (2-for-6) along with a penalty kick by his replacement, Fawzi Kawash (1-for-1).

Bruins scrumhalf Yoh Nakayama put the visitors on the board in the 14th minute with a 30-meter penalty but missed two more attempts before halftime that would have put UCLA (7-2, 3-1 PAC) in better striking distance going into halftime.

The Bears buckled down and scored four unanswered tries in the second stanza, playing a total of 20 minutes shorthanded across both halves thanks to yellow cards issued by referee Phil Akroyd as Cal struggled to get on the right side of his whistle. The added adversity was in some way welcome as the Blue and Gold continue to develop their appetite for hard work and difficult challenges, along with the privilege of playing on Pac-12 Networks in front of a full set of bleachers accented by the pageantry of the University’s Straw Hat Band.

“The stands full of people, the band, the student-athletes from the other teams all supporting us – I try not to break my concentration on the field but it’s so awesome, you notice it,” said freshman Nic Mirhashem. “It’s another reminder of how much it means to be standing on Witter Rugby Field.”

“UCLA was tenacious, especially at the breakdown, but as we started playing faster, the game opened up a bit,” added Fuller, a sophomore.

“Strength is their strength,” said UCLA head coach Scott Stewart of the Bears. “They punish mistakes and they don't make very many of them. I think we'll take what happened here, against a difficult opponent, and try to use it to our advantage going forward.” The Bears and Bruins see each other again in the Varsity Cup, the Collegiate Rugby Championship, or both.

In other conference play on Saturday, Arizona State traveled to Tucson, where it fell to Arizona, 29-17, in the rugby version of the Territorial Cup. Utah won a non-conference game against New Mexico 83-0, so they remain 3-0, which is now Cal's record, also.

For Arizona v. Arizona State, it was a classically tense rivalry match. The teams were close at halftime but a combination of better finishing and some impact subs saw the Wildcats through 29-17.

"We were able to do some good things but we had some opportunities that we left on the table," said Arizona Coach Sean Duffy. "We did a lot of good things in set piece, which is the culmination of the last few weeks of tough games. We've been telling guys to trust the process, and we hope this is the first step toward getting some wins and putting in some good performances and getting in the DIA playoffs."

The Arizona tight five was solid, with hooker Steven Branham, lock Sean Coleman, and prop Mason Pederson - all USA U20 players - showing well. 

Dante Weeks scored a try for Arizona, and flyhalf Kyle Rogers added three penalty kicks, and a try which he converted. Then late in the game the Arizona bench finished it off.

"This was the first game where we used the bench tactically," said Duffy. And the result was sub lock Dakota Worth scored on a maul play to put the game out of reach.

Next up for Cal will be the Bears' regular date with St. Mary's. UCLA is idle, while Arizona State takes on Oregon State, and Arizona will play a non-conference game against Colorado in Las Vegas. Utah will also be in Vegas, playing 7s.