The Mustangs defeated Long Beach State at home on Saturday, 68-14, grabbing another league win as the quarter comes to an end.
Led by a “dynamic” attack and “whole-team effort,” the Mustangs, ranked No. 14 in the College Rugby Association of America power rankings, put up a 28-point halftime advantage before adding 33 more points in the second half, head coach Chris O’Brien said.
WATCH: Cal Poly vs. Long Beach State
“It was a great way to end our fall season. The guys put together a really good 80 minutes — barely any letdowns,” O’Brien said. “And with it being finals week, we only had hour sessions, and they were basically clarity sessions. The guys did great with it.”
Prop Joey Hodge notched three tries, O’Brien said, while Dean Hall and Timmy Miranda each added two, among other try-scorers.
Cal Poly’s B-side also won, defeating Long Beach 43-19.
The Mustangs closed the quarter with two consecutive league wins after last week’s victory over Sacramento State.
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The Sharks, ranked No. 20 in the CRAA power rankings, have faced a gauntlet the last several weeks, playing No. 12 UCLA, No. 6 Saint Mary’s, and the defending club rugby national champions, Belmont Shore — all losses. (The loss against UCLA was narrow, 25-23.)
“I always get nervous playing them because they’re a tough team,” O’Brien said of the Sharks. ” … We stayed within our structure for 80 minutes and didn’t play the ‘throw-the-ball-around’ game with them. You could tell in the second half that fitness-wise and skill-wise, we were going to break them down.”
O’Brien emphasized two new roster additions: lock Tyler Hoffman and wing Troy Fletcher. “They were huge impacts,” O’Brien said, “and you could tell they loved being back in the sport.” Hoffman played rugby for O’Brien in Danville, while Fletcher played running back for Cal Poly’s football team, described as having “crazy, crazy speed.”
The Mustangs are off for several weeks before a Jan. 10 road match versus the No. 5 Cal Bears in Strawberry Canyon.
“It’s always a good marker to see where you’re at,” O’Brien said. “We’ll have a lot of guys coming home who’ve been doing a quarter overseas, so our roster will look a little different. It’s exciting — Cal’s the best in the country, I think. It’s always a good measuring stick.”
Additional details about that match will be released at a later time.