Stanford 7 - UC Santa Barbara 68

January 13, 2024
Steuber Rugby Stadium
Stanford, CA

Stanford Men's Rugby welcomed UC Santa Barbara to the Farm for a preseason scrimmage. The Cardinal worked hard since the end of winter break to prepare for the start of league matches later this month. The team was back on campus before the start of the quarter for Winter Break Camp featuring double days. This week's Stanford roster featured nine rookie players with three earning starting honors: Nolan Pierce '27 at prop, Taki Rifai '27 at halfback, and Charlie Abowd '27 at wing. Jawad Ibrahim '27 would come in to replace Pierce early on in the match. Preseason match-ups are key to developing new players and exposing them to the physicality and pace of collegiate play. 

UCSB struck twice in the initial minutes, the first after a valiant ten phases of defensive effort by the Cardinals. In the tenth minute, the Cardinal scrum, just outside 22 meters, would deliver a clean ball to the backs where veteran flyhalf Thane Brueschke '25 put center Jeff Edsall '24 on a line out the back to stress the Gauchos. A mishandling awarded the Gauchos  a scrum on their defending five meter line. A battle for territory ensued, however, UCSB capitalized on Stanford errors, working themselves into Stanford territory and offloading for subsequent scores.  

In the 34th minute, UCSB attacked the wide channel keeping the ball alive through their backs, sending Stanford on the chase. Cardinal eight-man Kasen Stephensen '24 and hooker Jeff Phaneuf '24 pursued the Gaucho center with Phaneuf completing the tackle. The remainder of the Cardinal line hustled back with Rifai taking down a UCSB prop. The Cardinal's adjustments to contain the wide-to-wide Gaucho attack would be on display next. Cardinal center Lucas Cavalieri '25, timed the Gaucho passes, jumping the lane for the intercept and a 70-meter try. Captain Diego Burgos '25 converted to end the half with 7-32.

Stanford found more possession in the second half, but UCSB applied corresponding defensive pressure, and the Cardinal were unable to find the Gaucho tryline. The Gauchos scored six more tries on the half to put the final score at 7-68. 

Notably, Stanford applied strong pressure at kickoffs from the boot of Brueschke, regaining 40% of their restarts in the first half. In addition, the team conceded minimal penalties at only four penalties over the 80-minute match. The team will be back to work at training this week as they build towards league play later in the month. With strong leadership and experience amongst returning players, the team looks forward to seeing our rookie class develop skills and accelerate the level of play over the season. 

The Cardinal will face Santa Clara University at home next Saturday, January 20th for a 1:30 pm kickoff at  Steuber Rugby Stadium in a doubleheader with the women's team who plays prior. 

Try: Lucas Cavalieri
Conversion: Diego Burgos 

In the B-side match, Stanford finished 12-17 against the UCSB second side. Down 0-17 at half, Stanford started with a deep kickoff from Patrick Kennedy '27 to give the Cardinal superb field position after a UCSB mishandling on the reception. After a series of UCSB penalties, Kennedy delivered a ball from a quick tap to a forward pod crashing through for the score. Throughout the half, Stanford would continue to get good go forward including strong runs by Tamba Mbawa '27. The second try of the game came from heads-up play by Theo Von Preyss '24 as he picked from a ruck and dived over the tryline. Oliver Sibal '24 converted the try.  Special recognition goes to rookie Thoriso Watkins '26 for his first appearance for Stanford Rugby in a fifteens rugby match.