That’s right, you heard it — er, read it. The Cal rugby team lost. Yes, lost. As in, didn’t win. This is a blue moon and a fat chance rolled into one. This is as rare as uncooked meat. I repeat: The Cal rugby team lost. I’ll give you a second to digest this information, and it might take longer than that.

The Bears stood at 20-0 before Wednesday. Then, on its annual trip to Vancouver, Canada to face British Columbia, Cal was dealt its first loss of the season in its last game of the regular season, a 27-22 decision at Thunderbird Stadium.

Because an aggregate score determines the winner of the two-match exchange, and because the Bears beat UBC by 18 points at Witter Rugby Field on Feb. 20, they officially won the 2008 World Cup Series.

Another note of consolation for Cal is that the Thunderbirds are not a United States team and therefore will not participate in the Round of 16, which begins April 18 in Albuquerque, N.M.

In their recent string of four consecutive national championships, the Bears dropped at least one game per season. But after watching them play against UBC earlier this season, I really thought they would pull off a perfect regular season.

Cal hadn’t lost since March 3 of last year, when it fell to 2006 Rugby Super League champion Old Mission Beach Athletic Club.

I can only imagine what the team’s next practice will be like.

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