BERKELEY – California rugby will hit the road for its final contest of the regular season on Friday against BYU in Provo, Utah. The match will take place on BYU's South Field at 11:30 a.m. MT / 10:30 a.m. PT.
 
"Seems there are always occasions when there's a change of plans which require adjustments," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "Last week, we planned to be away and had to scramble to host. This week, we were supposed to travel Friday and play Saturday, then with a date change we have to travel Thursday to play Friday. The biggest change now is with the postseason seeding being released a week earlier than scheduled, the BYU match becomes disconnected to the postseason. This means we need to change our lineup to mirror the match's importance while preparing for single-elimination postseason rugby. We will field an entirely different 15 than we started last weekend. This will be a Cal reserve team that has a chance to win. There are good players within this team. It will take a great deal of effort and resolve, but I wouldn't count this team out. Either way, we will benefit from competing against BYU, and the players we have been riding the hardest will get a rest."
 
The Golden Bears have already secured a spot in the first round of the 2023 National Collegiate Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West region. Cal will host No. 6 seed Cal Poly on April 8 at Witter Rugby Field. More detailed information on kickoff time and how to watch the match is to come.
 
Cal (10-2) will make a quick turnaround to face BYU following its matchup with Saint Mary's last weekend. In a tightly contested match at Witter Rugby Field, the Bears were outscored 38-34 by the Gaels. Senior co-captain and Rudy Scholz Award nominee Max Schumacher logged a solid day, tallying one try, one penalty kick and three conversions for 14 points for the Bears. Fellow senior Alex Aguero scored a brace of tries and senior Cal Liebowitz added another, his fifth try of the spring season. Evan Weigold was the fourth Bear to contribute points with a try, his eighth of the season.
 
Cal and BYU last met in February 2022 in Berkeley when the Bears won the contest 24-21. It was a back-and-forth affair in which both co-captains Schumacher and Nathan Zylstra scored tries in addition to a try by Will Shankland and two conversion kicks by Nate Salter. Cal last traveled to BYU for the 2016 Penn Mutual Varsity Cup national championship final when the Bears clinched the title with their 40-29 victory over the Cougars. It was the 30th national championship title for Cal rugby and the 26th under Clark.
 
The Cougars have put together a 9-2 record in 15-a-side action this season. BYU took a notable 24-23 win over Central Washington at home on March 18 and also beat Arizona 38-18 and Grand Canyon 64-12 in road matches. The Cougars' two losses came at the hands of Saint Mary's and Life University, with the Gaels edging the Cougars 23-18 on March 4 and the Running Eagles handing BYU a 24-14 final on October 22. Last time out, BYU downed Utah 67-22 on Saturday. The Cougars have earned the No. 4 seed in the West and are slated to host No. 5 seed Arizona in Provo on April 8 for the first round of the D1A playoffs.
 
With the forthcoming slate of playoffs action on the docket, the Bears will adjust their starting lineup in Provo this week. The new front row will feature junior prop duo Clayton Seastrand and Josh Mao with junior Matt Vranesh as the hooker. Junior Pat Deely and freshman Miles Malone will make up the second row, and the new backrow will consist of sophomores Jon Puckett and Hugo Schreuder alongside junior Brett Dowgiewicz.
 
Caleb Tomasin and Salter, a junior and senior respectively, will pair as the halfbacks. Junior Mack Fell will captain the team from the inside center position with freshman Michál de Beer his counterpart as the outside center. Returning from injury and featuring on the wing will be junior Shankland, and senior Alex Brundage will be positioned on the opposite wing. Freshman Oliver Newall will round out the first XV as the Bears' fullback.
 
Admission to the match will be free of charge for spectators. Fans unable to attend in-person can also follow along via BYU's livestream.
 
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