St. Mary’s and Cal win championships.
All-America fullback Dylan Audsley scored 25 points and No. 1 St. Mary’s won its third D1A rugby national championship Saturday as the Gaels defeated No. 2 Life University 30-24 in Moraga.
This was the fifth consecutive final between the Gaels and the Running Eagles. Life has won two titles.
“We work all year for this, running through the hills early through the season and building relationships,” St. Mary’s flanker Alec Barton told USARugby.org. “We talk about staying composed through the game and the only way we can stay composed is by trusting in each other and working off of those relationships.”
St. Mary’s turned a 7-0 deficit into a 13-7 lead thanks to two penalties and a try from Audsley. Life led 17-16 at the half and extended the lead to 24-16 before Audsley went to work, converting three penalty kicks to give St. Mary’s a 25-24 lead. Cal 43, Arkansas State 13: In Santa Clara, another national title was settled, in the 2017 Varsity Cup final.
Russell Webb scored 18 points, Sam Cusano scored three tries as the Bears won the program’s 32nd national championship.
“We were able to run around the field and our physicality in the forwards allowed us to set up a lot of moves,” said Cal’s Kevin Sullivan, who had a try in the 35th minute and set up several more with his passing, earning Man of the Match honors.