The Mustangs returned from Christmas vacation, eager to take on one of the best Rugby programs in the nation, at St. Mary’s College, Saturday in Moraga. The game was intense from the first whistle, and Cal Poly came out hot in the first ten minutes. All American Flanker, Richard Herbert, put the Mustangs on the board first, breaking several tackles to stretch the ball over the try line. The Gaels were able to answer back, as they weathered the offensive onslaught and counter-attacked at crucial moments to even the score. Although, Cal Poly was the much bigger and stronger side, St. Mary’s was able to capitalize on the Mustangs mistakes, and make huge gains in counter-attacking. The score read 17-5 to the home team at half, and the mustangs came out hot again in the final forty minutes. Tries from Junior Prop Aaron Bordenave and new scrum-half sensation Colin Malcom, brought Cal Poly within four points with about twenty minutes left. However, seven times the Mustangs were within inches of scoring only to commit costly turnovers, and the Gaels were eager to swing the ball wide and test the young Cal Poly backline all day. In the end the Gaels proved to be too discplined on defense, and Cal Poly made too many errors to earn the victory. The game was an important learning step heading into the season for the mustangs. “I think that this game will show us what we need to work on in order to be ready for league,” said senior 8-man Alex Murchison, in his post-game news conference, “we have a lot of young guys stepping up this season, and I am excited to see how they do.” Senior captain Richard Herbert was openly disappointed with his teams inability to finish, “Those are tries we have to have,” he said after, “It just comes down to who wants it more. This was a game we easily could have won.” The loss has the Mustangs chomping at the bit to start league, and prove once again that they are still the most dominant program in Southern California.

Gametimes for this Saturday’s games against the Gaels are as follows:

11 am – 3rd side

1 pm – 1st side

3 pm – 2nd side

Third side needs to be booted at the fields at 10 am and the Seconds and Firsts at 11 am

The games will be held at Pat Vincent Memorial Field in Moraga, Ca

Directions from San Luis Obispo are as follows:

101 N – 180 mi

680 N toward Sacramento – 46 mi

Take the Olympic blvd exit (exit 45B) – 0.4 mi

Turn Left on Olympic Blvd – 2.1 mi

Turn Left onto Reliez Station rd – 0.6 mi

Reliez Station rd becomes Glenside dr – 0.6 mi

Turn Left on St. Mary’s rd – 2.1 mi

End 1928 St. Mary’s rd

New Players are always welcome to come out and join our program, or just give rugby a shot and see if its for you. Our practice schedule is:

Conditioning- Monday 6am at the track

Practice- Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 6pm on the Rec Sports Fields 6 and 7 off highland dr

There will also be a mandatory meeting on Thursday, January 14th directly following practice to discuss some logistics for the regular season and collect dues and late paperwork.

Returners dues will continue to be collected based on the amount owed, and Rookies dues for Winter Quarter are $150.

This upcoming Saturday, December 5th, the first and second sides will be traveling up to Chico to take on the Wildcats.

A-side will play at 1:00pm and will be followed by the B-side at 3:00pm

Directions to the Chico State rugby field are as follows:

From I-5:

-         In Orland take the Highway 32 exit to Chico.

-         Hwy. 32 to Chico, to W. Sacramento Ave.

-         Left on W. Sacramento Ave at the stoplight to Warner St.

-         Right on Warner St. appr. 3 blocks, just before the stoplight, turn right into the parking lot and follow that back behind the football stadium and you will see the rugby field behind there off to the left!

From Hwy. 99:

-         Hwy. 99 to Chico. Take the E. 1^st Ave. exit. Turn left under freeway.

-         Stay on E. 1^st Ave. through 4 stoplights to stop sign at Warner St.

-         Turn left on Warner through 1 stop light and just before second stop light turn right into the parking lot and follow that back behind the football stadium and you will see the rugby field behind there off to the left!

Going into the first game of the 2009-2010 season with a little over a week of practice, there was less apprehension than expected among the Mustangs. However, a mix of new players and new positions along with a hard-pressing defense from UC Davis proved to be too much for Cal Poly to handle. The first half saw Davis capitalize on a couple of key Cal Poly mistakes in their own half, and Davis was up quickly 10-0. Once the Mustangs caught their breath after these two scores, things seemed to be turning in their favor. Because of good pressure from Cal Poly and repeated penalties by UC Davis, Cal Poly had the ball within five meters of scoring numerous times in the last 25 minutes of the first half. Yet poor execution and careless ball handling led to a turnover every time the Mustangs got close. Eventually, fullback and captain Martine Phelan was able to slot a penalty goal in from 30 meters out to inch the Mustangs closer- 10-3 Davis at halftime.

Cal Poly was optimistic coming out of halftime that they could turn the game around and come together as a cohesive unit for 40 more minutes. With strong forward play, the Mustangs were able to get the ball into the try zone for the first time in the game, but it would also be the last. Once they scored, things seemed to come out from under the Mustangs. It was a combination of issues that, for the most part, came down to the team dynamic and team cohesiveness which can only be solved through more time together as a full 15. To Davis’s credit, they never let up and continually pressured the Mustangs in their own half which lead to their three scores in the second half. For the most part it wasn’t Cal Poly’s defense that failed, but mistakes on offense that continued to haunt them. The final score was 29-8, and Cal Poly was handed a loss for its first game of the season.

Both the second and third sides performed very well and both came through with wins in two hard fought battles against UC Davis second side and Fresno State, respectively.  There have been extremely high numbers out for the Mustangs this year and there seems to be no lack of skill or dedication in the current rookie class.

Looking ahead, Cal Poly has a few more weeks of practice, with a break in between for Thanksgiving, before they head up to Chico to take on the Wildcats on December 5^th. Until then, Cal Poly will continue to improve and will be ready to take Chico head-on.

3:00 pm- A side vs. UC Davis

5:00 pm- B side vs. UC Davis

7:00 pm- C side vs. Fresno State

All games will be played at Cal Poly sports complex fields