OK. The Bears are in the finals, playing Life University. Still not clear on what time. But it this afternoon and, I think, on NBC.

14-0 Bears at half!!

Looking good. LIFE has improved a lot since last year but we are taking care of business and turnovers...really want to win the 7's which have eluded us so far....GO BEARS !!!!

19-0 Cal

Cal wins 19-14.......:cheer...National Champions !!!!!

GO!

Go Bears!

Congrats to the Golden Bears. Roll on!

Didn't look like Calvin Booth (or Jack Clark), so who was the white haired guy the team hoisted on their shoulders at the end?

How many, if any, members of the current team are pure 7 players or were recruited primarily for 7s?

BearDevil;842127656 said:

---

Didn't look like Calvin Booth (or Jack Clark), so who was the white haired guy the team hoisted on their shoulders at the end?

---

Dave Stenger. Long-time athletic trainer. Retiring this year.

Fantastic tourney, it ws great to see it on prime time TV. This is a very television-friendly game and tourney format, let's hope it keeps growing.

Go Bears!

Life University.....say what?

Cal dispatches Life U. for the (Sir Thomas Kupp) cup.

Go Bears and thrive.

I think they recruit their players from either S. Africa or Australia/New Zealand ....a little imprecise, but there you have it. Arkansas St.? is another alternate Rugby power with athletes from the opposite of Life.

CALiforniALUM;842127664 said:

---

Life University.....say what?

---

Hey! We beat the fightin' chiropractors. What more do you want?

That was so cool seeing Stenger getting hoisted up. He was my trainer when I played back in the 80's - great person.

Does this Championship count at all for the Capital/Directors/Furd Cup?

Coupled with the Men's semifinal in Golf, a few points to be added to the journal.

First rugby matched I've ever watched. Great fun, guys look tough. The guy who scored first for Cal 6'3", 220 and fast, looks like a natural fullback. Seems like Cal doesn't recruit from the rugby team. Didn't Joe Kapp use a number of rugby players, when he coached? I seem to remember something about the team running the fire trail behind Memorial, which Kapp copied from the rugby team. Is there a reason we no longer pull players from the rugby teams?

I don't think it qualifies because Rubgy isn't a recognized NCAA sport.

Yes, that was very cool to see Dave Stenger lifted on the players' shoulders and being warmly greeted with hugs from coaches and players after the final whistle. Dave has been a trainer at Cal since 1973 or '74, and the head trainer for Rugby for donkeys years.

I feel old having played football and rugby in the mid to late 80s and he had already been there for 10 years. 25 years after my last national championship he is retiring. Had a good chat with him at the Rugby team banquet last month. Very good man!

Congrats to Cal Rugby! They have now added a VIIs championship to the 26 XVs titles displayed in the Doc Hudson Fieldhouse at Witter Field. XVs and VIIs are definitely different disciplines within the same sport and it is not easy to be at or near the top in both. As usual, hard work, dedication and sharp focus have won the day. I am very proud of the players, coaches and staff that again have succeeded in modeling for all to see what a high performance program should strive to achieve.

Many rugby traditionalists aren't fond of the VIIs version of the game but it is here to stay as that is the format that will be played in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. The shorter games and dynamic open field play are more suitable to a short two week tournament format and a better fit for TV with regard to advertizing with two seven minutes halves and many games played in the same venue over the course of one day.

With Jack and Tom leading the charge, I hope and suspect that the program remains in good hands for the foreseeable future.

Go Bears!!

I have to admit that I had never even heard of Life University until yesterday.

It is a chiropractic college and I know little about its academics. It has, however, been a top rugby club in this country for years. I toured with a couple guys from Life on the USA Eagles in the 80s and my club, Old Blues RFC, played against Life a couple times in the '90s in club final four competitions.

That was club level, though. Not sure when they began competing at the collegiate level.

Kinda ironic that a chiropractic college would have such a good rugby program, isn't it?

NYCGOBEARS;842127878 said:

---

Kinda ironic that a chiropractic college would have such a good rugby program, isn't it?

---

Actually...it's brilliant. These guys will have an instant pipeline of clients upon graduation. I would venture to say that a fair number of rugby players end up with some sort of back/spine issues in their life.

A bit, yes. It was very convenient to have the guy on the team during a three week to Australia. Some adjustments to the back to alleviate pain but also to the neck one time to get rid of a hangover.

He was a really good back row player as well.

RighteousGoldenBear;842127883 said:

---

Actually...it's brilliant. These guys will have an instant pipeline of clients upon graduation. I would venture to say that a fair number of rugby players end up with some sort of back/spine issues in their life.

---

Don't forget shoulders.

PhillyBear;842127797 said:

---

I don't think it qualifies because Rubgy isn't a recognized NCAA sport.

---

Correct. The NCAA does not administer a rugby championship; USA Rugby is the responsible governing authority for both men's and women's rugby programs.