GABRIEL ROMERO / CONTRIBUTOR

For USD club rugby, a move from Division 1AA (D1AA) to Division 1A (D1AA) last summer meant playing against the best college  rugby has to offer. This past week, the University of San Diego rugby team hosted the UCLA Bruins, a nationally recognized program competing at the highest level. Division 1A represents the highest level of college club rugby in the country, featuring ranked opponents from around the country and established programs. This past week at Manchester field, USD club rugby delivered its most significant result since the transition, defeating the UCLA Bruins 40-19 in front of a home crowd.

Torero’s stopped UCLA from advancing during the game. Photo courtesy of @ usdrugby/Instagram

In its first season competing in the California Collegiate Conference, San Diego has quickly positioned itself near the top of the standings, currently sitting in second place. The Toreros opened league play with a tie against UC Santa Barbara before building momentum going on a winning streak beating GCU, UC Davis, and at Long Beach State before its matchup with UCLA. 

USD first-year and inside center Will Briggs commented on the big win as the team led early and held on to beat UCLA at home. 

“First time we’ve beaten UCLA in 15s, and this is especially important because this is the first season we’ve gotten pulled up to D1A as we’ve been in D1AA,” Briggs said. “I am so happy for the seniors who got to win, obviously in the rankings it’s huge, according to Goff from the Goff Rugby report, our rankings have moved from 17th  to 12th after that win, so we are now ranked 12th in the country.”

Briggs attributed the team’s early season success to what he described as a “blue collar mentality.”

“A big thing about our team is that ‘blue collar mentality’ where we want to just work hard for each other,” Briggs said.

The performance was bolstered by individual efforts, including junior Torres Kapust, who was named D1A Athlete of the Week, and graduate student Paul Habeeb, who added two tries in the second half.

USD first-year Cole Dennis said preparation in the training leading up to the match played a critical role in the upset.

“Our coach prepared us by getting us in the right mentality and making practices harder than ever,” Dennis said. “Every player on the team was hungry for the win and that was shown during practice and the game. We were conditioned and disciplined the best we could be.”

Although a regular season game, Dennis said the team entered the game with a deeper purpose.

“We  were  playing for the legacy of the club and most importantly our brothers,” Dennis said. “This  was the game that would prove to the rest of the D1 league that we weren’t there to lose.”

With the victory, San Diego’s club rugby strengthened its position near the top of the California Collegiate Conference standings while continuing to establish itself in its first season at the D1A level. Head coach Charlie Purdon commented on the team’s improvement that was visible in the last game. 

“We’ve had a bit of time to get fitter and more battle hardened,” Purdon said. “[That has allowed them to] tighten up our set-piece and kicking game, build some cohesion and a clearer identity on how we want to play and what is most effective for us.”

USD player Vaughn Foust  celebrates on the pitch. Photo courtesy of @usdrugby/Instagram

The result marked a statement win in conference play for USD club rugby as the season is more than halfway over with matches left at Sacramento State, Princeton, and Air Force. Club Rugby’s B team  plays their next game this coming Sunday, March. 10, at home on Manchester Field against Cal Lutheran. 

USD senior Sam Carlson receives the ball on a line-out (inbounding play). Photo courtesy of @usdrugby/Instagram