Cal gets to jump in - finally, they might say - into the Varsity Cup after a long buildup that included winning the PAC Rugby Conference and defeating St. Mary’s.

The Bears travel to Texas to face the Longhorns, who had to work very hard to put aside Notre Dame a week ago.

Asked how you match up against Cal, Texas Head Coach Chris Hopps said “you don’t.” That wasn’t a capitulation, it was recognition that if you beat a good team, you have to play your best game - your game. Texas will want to use their speed and not get caught in a slugfest in tight. Except that Cal is pretty good on the fringes, too.

Cal Head Coach Jack Clark felt his team was fairly good against St. Mary’s, but left some points unclaimed. 

“We’re improving,” he said after that game. “We scrummed well, our lineout functioned well. But we certainly could have been more accurate. But we’re working way too hard at this not to improve.”

St. Mary’s was “the kind of game we need,” added Clark. “That game provided a lot of lessons; it was a good, tough game.”

Central to Cal’s efforts over the years has usually been a strong tight five, and they always have good locks. This year lock was a bit of a question-mark, but the positions seem to have been claimed by Sione Sina, a tough-minded former football player who is punishingly physical, and James Kondrat, a 6-6 Xavier HS (NY) product who can run, pass, and is very good in the lineout. They’ve formed a partnership that will be a big part of how Cal secures and keeps possession - which they will.

The second game in this bracket of the Varsity Cup is Clemson at Navy. This is a rematch of a game played February 15, and won by Navy. In that game, it was very close up until the final moments when Navy pulled away. Will that be how it goes this time? Clemson followed up that game with a 51-0 loss to Life before reeling off four straight victories, including their comeback win over Arkansas State last week.

Navy, for their part, have had up-and-down results, including losses to Wheeling Jesuit (who went on to lose to Clemson) and Army. And they struggled mightily with Dartmouth before edging out the Big Green 23-22. The game with Dartmouth might have been disturbingly close, but the difficult of the match was what pleased Head Coach Mike Flanagan.

“We learned that we can win a close game,” said Flanagan. “That was very important for us. It’s been one of our bigger issues this year - the emotional buy-in after we make mistakes or something goes wrong. I know it’s not supposed to happen at the Naval Academy, but it’s been happening. That didn’t happen against Dartmouth. The guys really hunkered down and stayed connected.”

That resolve - really a recover of self belief - will be crucial as the game with Clemson promises to be closer and more difficult than February 15, or November 15 (when Navy beat the Tigers also).

“The whole world is telling Clemson that we’ve already beaten them,” said Flanagan. “But that’s a curse and a blessing. They will come in here and they will come to play. They have some real quality players - they’ve got a guy I tried to get here at Navy. We’re under no illusions.”

Our Take

Cal looks good for this one. Texas struggled with Notre Dame’s game in the forwards, and Cal’s front eight is much tougher than Notre Dame’s. Starved of possession, the Longhorns are in for a long day.

Meanwhile, Flanagan’s take is the right one. Losing twice to Navy, Clemson knows this is the one that counts. The Tigers have a clutch goalkicker and are playing some really smart rugby. Navy has yet to really put it together. We think Navy, especially since they are at home, but it’s not going to be easy.