Rugby satisfied with teamwork, defense despite loss to Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo

Losing by a 36-point shutout has never felt good, but
that’s exactly what happened to the UCLA rugby team, who
hosted the division-leading Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs on
Saturday afternoon.

Coming into the game, the Mustangs had compiled an impressive
6-0 record this season, including a 53-point win at Stanford, a
57-point win against UCSD, and a 112-point drubbing against Long
Beach State, and are considered one of the top teams in the
nation.

In comparison, the Bruins (2-5) have struggled all season, and
were satisfied with their 36-0 loss to the Mustangs on Saturday
afternoon.

“I was impressed with our overall effort,
definitely,” UCLA coach Yuri Thomas said. “SLO’s
one of the top teams in our division, and I really think we went
out there and matched them effort-wise.”

The Bruins charged out of the gate but were immediately matched
by a fierce Cal Poly team that took control from the beginning.
Although the ball rarely left the UCLA side of the pitch during a
frenetic first half, the Bruin defense forced the Mustangs into
several key errors. Despite losing the majority of scrums and the
battle for possession, they found themselves down only 17-0 at the
half.

“We were getting all flustered. Things weren’t
running right,” Cal Poly coach Tony Broom said. “We
weren’t passing well, we weren’t running straight, we
were dropping balls. UCLA seemed to have disrupted us.”

In the second half, the pace slowed considerably, and it allowed
both teams better opportunities to run plays. The Bruins were able
to open the field up a little bit more and, although they
ultimately failed to score, they did test the Mustang defense.
However, a few key missed tackles by the Bruins allowed Cal Poly to
score and open up the game.

“We made some mistakes at some inopportune times,”
Thomas said. “I think that really cost us.”

Overall, UCLA was pleased with the final score.

“This is a team that’s supposed to be one of the top
ones in the nation,” junior Bruin flanker Sean McGuire
said.

“We went out there for 35 minutes (in the first half) and
played great defense,” UCLA fullback Andy Nelson added.
“We didn’t give them an inch.”

Even though they lost, the final score gave the rugby team a
bout of confidence going into next weekend, where they travel to
Arizona for a tough doubleheader. Although their overall record now
stands at 2-5, the team still believes it can reach its goal for
the season ““ a .500 record.

“That’s still the goal and there’s no reason
we can’t achieve it,” Thomas said.