Nearing the 50th minute of Saturday’s match at Witter Rugby Field, the Cal rugby team was leading Nevada, 87-3. The Bears showed no signs of letting up, but rookie prop Jon Karacozoff looked ready to hit the showers.

After one sequence, he stood up, put his hands on his hips and panted.

“This was my first real 80 minutes of rugby I’ve ever played,” Karacozoff said. “If it wasn’t for my teammates helping me out and teaching me the knowledge of the game—I played for about two and a half years in high school, but nowhere near the same level.”

So give the guy a break. It was his first full game of rugby with the heralded Cal squad after spending three years as a defensive lineman on the football team. And Karacozoff will be the first to admit that the transition from football hasn’t been easy on the ol’ bones.

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The Cal rugby team has a history of winning, and winning big. But Friday’s annihilating of Tennessee in the first round of the national playoffs was something else.

The Bears cracked the century mark, beating the Volunteers by a score of 102-3. And that was with the reserves. (Click here to read more…)

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. (Click here to read more…)

It was hard to believe. It was nearly impossible to fathom. Before rallying back in a win over Saint Cuthbert, the Cal reserves trailed 21-0. Yes, trailed. But as it turns out, that margin has some coincidental significance.

The Bears have won all 20 of their matches so far, and they can finish the regular season in perfect fashion — 21-0 — with a victory over British Columbia in the second leg of the World Cup Series. That match is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, at 2:30 p.m. at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. (Click here to read more…)

In basketball and football, it’s always about the rankings — who’s up, who’s down, and which team deserves to be where.

That’s not exactly the case with rugby. There’s no poll with considerable authority, and coach Jack Clark doesn’t think much of them. Maybe that’s because his team is practically always No. 1, and the Bears make a joke of the rankings when they blow out Top-5 teams.

Now, however, the rankings have some purpose (Click here to read more…)

The Cal rugby team has won 23 of the last 28 collegiate national championships, including the last four. But could this be the year that the Bears win it all with a perfect record? As in, without losing a match the entire season?

In its recent string of four national titles, Cal has had at least one loss each season. (Click here to read more…)

Before I interviewed senior center Gary Golding last week, I knew he balanced rugby with his participation in the men’s octet. But I wondered if his rugby and a cappella lives intersected at all.

As I found out, they do.

I also found out a bunch more about the 2007 All-American. Here are a few tidbits: (Click here to read more…)

Has Rikus Pretorius been on the phone with Kobe Bryant lately?

During the Cal rugby team’s match against Utah, the senior flanker and captain sat out with an injured finger. His middle and ring fingers were taped together, and he is due for an MRI on Monday.

But Pretorius, who sustained the injury during the Bears’ match against British Columbia last week, doesn’t expect to miss any more game time due to injury — even if it’s a torn ligament.

Cal’s next match is on Saturday, March 1, against New Mexico.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned while covering the Cal rugby team, it’s that coach Jack Clark takes his sport very seriously.

Rarely does he show expressions of joy on the sideline, and rarely does he praise his team’s effort—even in blowout victories.

All of that was different Wednesday against British Columbia. (Click here to read more…)

If you like watching Cal rugby, stay in Berkeley. The Bears aren’t going anywhere — for awhile, at least.

Cal’s four-match home stand at Witter Rugby Field was extended to seven when the squad scheduled a March 1 tilt against New Mexico.

The Bears had hoped to face Belmont Shore that day, but the 2007 Rugby Super League champion declined the invitation.

Before March 1? Cal continues one of the toughest stretches of its schedule, with matches against British Columbia in the World Cup Series on Wednesday afternoon and No. 4 Utah on Saturday.

The home stretch continues through March 9 against Texas A&M.

As for the Lobos, I’ll give them one thing. They’ve got guts.