Although finishing the Division 1A season with loses to UCLA and Central Washington, Cal Poly remain positive on their season as a whole and the progress they have made with new head coach David Burnett. “The season was full of opportunities. Some opportunities we were able to take advantage of and others we fell short. However, no matter what the outcome, we competed as proud Cal Poly athletes and set a benchmark for the seasons to come,” said Cal Poly 8 man and captain David Schaefer. “Unfortunately, this season was my last at Cal Poly, but this year, under new head coach Dave Burnett, we built a solid foundation and I am excited to follow the success of the team next year.”
In both matches against UCLA & Central Washington, the Mustangs came out firing with big tackles across the park and solid counter rucking at the breakdown. With less than 10 minutes to go in the first half against UCLA and a score line of just 3 a piece, Poly had replacement second rower Eddie Varea and Fullback Landis Nasser yellow carded in short succession for cynical play. UCLA used their numbers advantage well scoring just before the break. In the second half UCLA opened up out wide with some impressive speed shown by both wingers. Cal Poly attempted a fight back with tries to Matt Verga & Matt Ryan but it was all too late for the visiting team. UCLA deservingly took the win 39-13 and a spot in the playoffs where they will meet BYU in Utah on May 5th.
Similar to the UCLA match, Cal Poly’s physicality at the breakdown put the team in a position to take control of the match against Central Washington last Saturday in SLO, but lapses in defense kept the scoreboard clicking over for the visiting team. Tries to seniors Aaron Bordenave and David Schaefer in their last match in the Cal Poly green, were not enough to stay with a solid Central Washington outfit that played some great Rugby up the middle of the field. Final score Central Washington 60 – Cal Poly 29