Sorry for being tardy. Lots going on.......
Cal was defeated by Army 27-14 in what you could only call a fun, but old school rugby match. Both teams resorted to basic rugby, but Army executed better than the Bears did in the rainy and muddy conditions. It's not uncommon for rainy early spring matches in the northeast and this was Army's first match of the spring despite the fact they've been practicing since January. They were much better in possession and ball distribution. The slick ball caused problems for the Bears all afternoon. Kicking results are different too because the ball doesn't bounce on a muddy field as it would on plastic. Cal had a number of knock on penalties and just never got real traction for their offense. In fact, the overall number of penalties against the Bears was alarming and costly. Army is coached by Matt Sherman, former Cal great and a disciple of Coach Clark. So it was no surprise both teams played the same kind of game. Army just executed better and frankly, their body language suggested to me (watching on a screen) that they were on a mission. I felt they were the more aggressive team overall. My thought was Cal could have possibly taken advantage of the Cadets by doing some skip passes from the inside center outside to the wing. I thought the footing was better on the outside and Army was committing two to three men per tackle and I was hopeful that if the Bears could get the Cadets to over commit inside, they might find an opportunity outside. But the ball was obviously very slick, and Cal didn't do a good job of protection when they had possession, so my "expert" idea never took place.
Army looked REALLY good. If this match was indicative of how they're going to play for the rest of the season, they're going to have something to say about the overall rankings.
The Bears now find themselves with 2 losses on the season as they get ready to take on what will undoubtedly be the two most intense and important matches of the season against #1 Navy (at Witter on 3/16) followed by the local rivalry against St. Marys (in Moraga) just one week after that.
Cal was defeated by Army 27-14 in what you could only call a fun, but old school rugby match. Both teams resorted to basic rugby, but Army executed better than the Bears did in the rainy and muddy conditions. It's not uncommon for rainy early spring matches in the northeast and this was Army's first match of the spring despite the fact they've been practicing since January. They were much better in possession and ball distribution. The slick ball caused problems for the Bears all afternoon. Kicking results are different too because the ball doesn't bounce on a muddy field as it would on plastic. Cal had a number of knock on penalties and just never got real traction for their offense. In fact, the overall number of penalties against the Bears was alarming and costly. Army is coached by Matt Sherman, former Cal great and a disciple of Coach Clark. So it was no surprise both teams played the same kind of game. Army just executed better and frankly, their body language suggested to me (watching on a screen) that they were on a mission. I felt they were the more aggressive team overall. My thought was Cal could have possibly taken advantage of the Cadets by doing some skip passes from the inside center outside to the wing. I thought the footing was better on the outside and Army was committing two to three men per tackle and I was hopeful that if the Bears could get the Cadets to over commit inside, they might find an opportunity outside. But the ball was obviously very slick, and Cal didn't do a good job of protection when they had possession, so my "expert" idea never took place.
Army looked REALLY good. If this match was indicative of how they're going to play for the rest of the season, they're going to have something to say about the overall rankings.
The Bears now find themselves with 2 losses on the season as they get ready to take on what will undoubtedly be the two most intense and important matches of the season against #1 Navy (at Witter on 3/16) followed by the local rivalry against St. Marys (in Moraga) just one week after that.