Cal Seeded No. 1 in the West in National Rugby Championships Tournament

Defending national champion Cal opens the postseason against San Diego and would face Saint Mary's in the national semifinals if both teams get that far

National collegiate rugby championships bracket | Photo by the College Rugby Association of America

Top-ranked Cal received the No. 1 seed in the West for the 16-team D1A national rugby championships bracket, which was announced Monday by the College Rugby Association of America.

The Bears are seeking their 30 national title in rugby 15s, with 27 of those titles coming in the National Collegiate Rugby Championships and two coming in the Varsity Cup.

This year, a national semifinal game against East Bay rival Saint Mary’s looms for Cal, which would host the second-seeded Gaels on April 25 with the winner advancing to the national championship game if both teams advance to that point.

Cal and Saint Mary’s would have to win their first two postseason matches to set up that East Bay national semifinal matchup, but they are favored to do so.

Last year, Cal defeated Saint Mary’s 38-27 in Berkeley in the national semifinals, then went on to defeat Life University 55-38 in the national championship match.

This year the 13-0 Bears will begin defense of their  national title with a first-round game against eighth-seeded San Diego on April 11 in Berkeley.

Cal did not play the Toreros this season in rugby 15s play, although the Bears topped San Diego 53-0 in a rugby sevens contest in October, before the start of the 15s season.

If it wins the opener, Cal would host a second-round match on April 18 between the winner of the first-round contest between BYU and Cal Poly.

Cal beat Cal Poly 57-14 back on January 18, and knocked off BYU 48-17 on March 8 in Provo, Utah.

If the Bears win their second-round contest, they would likely face Saint Mary’s, which lost to Cal 66-35 in both teams’ regular-season finale on Saturday.

The winner of the West region would play the winner of the East region in the national championship game on May 2 in Indianapolis.

Navy, which lost to Cal 52-45 in a tip-and-tuck battle back on March 7, is the top seed in the East, with Lindenwood seeded seed.