Cal Beats No. 1 Navy in a Classic Rugby Match

Cal overcame a seven-point second-half deficit by scoring the final 14 points of the game to knock off No. 1-ranked Navy 52-45 in a riveting rugby match on Saturday afternoon at sold-out Witter Field in Berkeley.

Cal, the defending national champion in rugby 15s, remains undefeated an may move up to the No. 1 ranking when the next college rugby polls are posted.

Navy (7-1) took a 45-38 lead with 16 minutes to go when Avion Ganse scored his third try of the game.

But Cal’s Masi Koi scored a try after kicking the ball ahead to himself, and when Rand Santos added the conversion the score was tied 45-45 .

Cal’s Santos was sent off for a high tackle with 7:18 to go, giving Navy an advantage.

However, Oliver Teague scored a try for Cal with five minutes remaining, and after Koi added the conversion, Cal had a 52-45 lead.

Koi missed a penalty kick that would have clinched the win after the ball bounced off the upright with 1:30 remaining, but the Bears controlled play for the rest of the game to hang on

Navy came into the game ranked No. 1 while Cal was No. 4 in the College Rugby Association of America rankings, but those rankings were posted February 6.

The Goff Rugby Report posted rankings this week, and Navy was No. 1 and Cal No.2 in those rankings, while this week’s RugbyHawk rankings placed Cal No. 1 with Navy No. 2.

The game was a classic confrontation between Navy's power and precision against Cal's speed and finesse.

Cal took an early 14-0 lead on tries by Oliver Newall and Nate Comiskey, but Navy scored 24 straight point to go ahead 24-14.

A Michal de Beer try closed the gap to 24-21 with three minutes remaining in the first half, but a Navy try by Andrew Baublitz in the final seconds of the first half gave the Midshipmen a 31-21 lead at halftime.

Cal took a 33-31 lead by scoring the first two tries of the second half before Ganse and Santos traded tries to tie the game at 38-38 with 20 minutes remaining.

The third Ganse try put the Midshipmen ahead 45-38 before the Bears scored the final 14 points with Teague scoring the game-winner.

Cal finishes its spring rugby 15 schedule with two road matches against elite college rugby squads. The Bears travel to the East Coast to face Army next Saturday, then play its final regular-season match on March 28 in Moraga against East Bay rival Saint Mary’s

The Bears then begin the defense of their 2025 national championships when the postseason playoffs begin April 11.

On Saturday, Cal honored the Bears’ national 15 champions of 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016, as well as the 2016 national sevens championship team.