On Saturday November 18th, In the first California Conference D1A game of the 2023-2024 season, UC Davis hosted and defeated their local rivals Sacramento State in a hard, physical match played under cold, rainy conditions.

Sacramento State was coming off the highs of winning a D1AA National Championship in May and they were rewarded with a bump up to D1A , the top division of USA collegiate rugby, where UCD has been competing for many years.  The Aggies were ready to spoil that party quickly.

Captain Francis Schumann got things going by kicking off deep into Hornets territory and the Ags did a great job of keeping the ball there for most of the first half.  Both teams opened with hard running and hard tackling as they figured each other out but it was Davis who controlled possession, aided by the wind at their backs, and were able to strike first when Inside Center Harrison Wheeler took a crash ball in for the game’s first try at the 15’ mark.

Then the Aggies struck again at 18’ and 22’, first by Outside Center Jacob Himan picking up a loose ball off a ruck, and then by Hooker George Zavala who gathered up another loose ball after a long kick and chase.  Schumann made both conversions and the Aggies were up 19-0.

Sac battled back though and the game began to rock back and forth until the 33’ when Himan found the try line again after a slashing 20m run that followed several phases of possession.  Schumann converted again.

The Hornets didn’t lay down though and were able to strike for a try of their own right before half and with the conversion it was 26-7 at the break.

The second half was a tougher story for the Ags as the Hornets now had the wind and rain at their backs.  But the Ags’s defense was solid and eventually Schumann took advantage of a Hornet penalty at the 50’ mark to extend the lead to 29-7.  

Sac State answered with a try by their outside backs (unconverted) at 58’ and then Davis finished the scoring at 78’ with another try by Wheeler to make the final score 36-12.

Overall, it was a great start for the Ags in California Conference action and a good way to wrap up their Fall schedule.  Standouts included points scorers Schumann, Wheeler and Himan in the backs and #8 Mike O’Donnell had an outstanding game for the forward pack.

Later that day, UCD’s football team beat Sac State’s football team 31-21 as well making it a clean sweep in this action-packed double header edition of the Causeway Classic.

Next up in January is Saint Mary’s on January 20th and UC Santa Cruz on January 27th. Both matches are at home at Russell Field. Please come out and support or make a donation if you can. For more on the latter, visit ucdavisrugby.com/donate. Go Ags!