Emilio Shea's try with six minutes left sealed a tense victory for Cal over Saint Mary's, seeing this classic rivalry once again go down to the wire.

Down 24-21 around the midway point of the second half and playing in front of a packed Witter Rugby Field, the Bears saw hooker Jack Manzo cross over and his front row mate Shea score later on to win it for Cal 31-24. Flanker Nathan Zylstra scored in the sixth minute to open the match, but Saint Mary's stormed back with two converted tries to lead 14-7 midway through the first half. The teams traded tries before halftime and the Gaels led 19-14 at the break.

But in the second half. sophomore prop Charlie Walsh found paydirt just four minutes into the second period, and Nate Salter's conversion put Cal ahead 21-19. Saint Mary's replied before the rest of the front row did their bit.

"As usual, I'm proud of our guys," Cal Head Coach Jack Clark said. "Obviously, the Gaels are among the top teams in the nation. There wasn't much between the two teams. It was always going to be a win by a little, lose by a little contest. A good regular-season match, nothing more really. We want to immediately turn the page towards the postseason."

"Credit to Saint Mary's, they're a good team," said Cal captain and lock Sam Golla. "They make us better, so we're thankful."

"We had a few mistakes today with handling," added Cal center Will Shankland, "but once we clean that up, we'll be a much better team heading into the postseason."

"The real winner today was collegiate rugby," added Clark. "Fantastic crowd, parking lot tailgates, university band, TV broadcast. Both of these rugby programs are vested in building our sport."

With their victory over Saint Mary's, Cal is expected to be seeded first in the West heading into DIA playoffs and as PAC Conference championships will host a quarterfinal match on April 16, getting a bye through the first round. Saint Mary's, California Conference champs, will likely get a bye, too.