Canada

California jumped out to an early lead and scored five tries by match's end, holding the University of British Columbia scoreless until the final minutes in a particularly physical match to open the "World Cup" series Wednesday on Witter Rugby Field as the Golden Bears won, 39-7.

The Bears (17-0) will carry a 32-point advantage into the second and final match of the series on March 24 in Vancouver.

"We took a bit of a thumping today but maybe my guys learned something,"said UBC head coach Spence McTavish. "We'll find out in a month, won't we?"

"What we try to do against the Thunderbirds is match their intensity level and make our tackles. We didn't let them break our lines inside," said winger Dustin Muhn.

Brothers Danny and Neill Barrett scored Cal's first two tries as the Bears leaped out of the gate quickly in characteristic 2010 fashion.

"There were 13 other guys out there putting us in position to score," said Danny. Asked why the Bears appeared to relish the physical style of the match, the sophomore said, "Everyone knows that the Canadians come to play and we had to stand up for ourselves and put a shoulder on them."

The T-Birds spent more time in Cal's end of the field during the second half and finally found the try zone when UBC outside center Jon Anthony cut inside to score a try before injury time. Connor Fuller's conversion rounded out the scoring for the visitors.

"We still have some room to reach higher toward our potential, but I liked how we came out in the second half and kept battling even though we left some tries unscored," said inside center Sean Gallinger.

"The Thunderbirds, they're always physical and work so hard. It's a good test for us to work on our effort and build on it," added starting flanker Jason Law.

A capacity crowd filled with many former players cheered on both teams during an afternoon that got sunnier as the match wore on. Those in attendance appeared to relish what may be Cal's second-to-last home match for the next couple of seasons.

"This is one of the best experiences of my life, an amazing feeling," said fullback James Bailes of wearing the blue and gold on Witter Rugby Field. "All the best to the fans - it definitely felt like a Saturday.

The Bears will travel to UC Santa Cruz for a 2:30 match this Saturday, Feb. 27, followed by two TBAs on March 6 and 13 before Cal hosts Saint Mary's for homecoming on Saturday, March 20, at 1 p.m.

The Scoring Timeline:

03:00 Danny Barrett 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
08:00 Neill Barrett 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
30:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3
35:00 Tom Rooke 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

Halftime: California 24, British Columbia 0

56:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3
73:00 Dustin Muhn 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
80:00 UBC (Jon Anthony) 5, (Connor Fuller) 2
82:00 Sean Gallinger 5

Final Score: California 39, British Columbia 7

The Team vs. British Columbia:

15. Bailes, 14. Muhn, 13. Hawley © (Kelly @ 75:00), 12. Gallinger (Lombardo @ 82:00), 11. Scully, 10. Engelbrecht, 9. Mase, 1. Deterding, 2. N. Barrett, 3. Besser, 4. D. Hyjer (Daly @ 54:00), 5. Fry, 6. Law, 7. Rooke, 8. D. Barrett (Asbun @ 52:00)