March 13, 2004 (Polo Fields, San Francisco)

Berkeley 18 vs. Hayward B 14
[Halftime: 13-0]

Tries: Alistair, Sebastian Vicuna, Rob Smith.
Penalty: Joel Drescher

Ref's report - Paul Berman:

A game played with tremendous good will. The players particularly the captains Charlie and Joel set a positive tone from the outset. We witnessed the debut of a new Northern California team, the Haas Business School of UC Berkeley, whose composition seemed to span several continents, including Americans from both sides of the equator. A truly international team.
This game saw two very different styles of rugby at play, wonderful crash and ruck rugby from Hayward and fast expansive rugby from the Business School. Haas scored two 1st half tries down the wings, adding a penalty, entering the break 13 points up without answer. This scoreline certainly took me and most of the crowd by surprise. The 2nd half saw Hayward settling into their stride, climbing back into the match, tightening their defenses, conceding only one additional try and responding with two excellent forward generated converted tries of their own. Hayward deservedly won the 2nd half.
To this observer, Haas's defensive play provided the winning edge, through good old fashioned sacrificial below the knees tackling. Something I haven't seen in years.
Thank you to both teams for a great game of rugby on a beautiful day.

2004 MBA World Rugby Championships April 2-4

April 2, 2004: Berkeley 3 vs. Smurfit 6

Penalty: Joel Drescher

Berkeley begin their quest by facing the two-time undefeated champions, Smurfit of Ireland, who had only conceded 5 points in the entire tournament the previous year. With the scores tied 3-3 at half time, Berkeley were on the verge of claiming a huge upset, but the luck of the Irish allowed them to narrowly sneak home

From the Smurfit website: "After an early night on Friday, we commenced our title defence with our first match pool against California's Berkley college. Berkley, who we considered to be our toughest competitors in the pool, provided tough resistance with their big pack, and successfully stopped us from playing the running rugby that we would have liked. Nevertheless, we claimed a 6-3 victory to start the campaign with a win under our belt."

April 2, 2004: Berkeley 17 v. Wharton B 5

Tries: Tim Lonergan, Jeremy Young, Francois Pellerin
Conversion:  Joel Drescher

Berkeley entered their second game with confidence, facing a strong Wharton team lining up for their opening match. Berkeley played some of their best rugby, and always looked in control.
According to the Wharton website: "Berkeley was a fast team keen to run the ball"

April 2, 2004: Berkeley v. Stanford

Facing off for their third game of the day against a team that had only played once, Stanford Rugby (or if their dirty secret be told, the Stanford/UCLA/USC/UCSC ringer team) overpowered Berkeley by 20 points after Berkeley's fiery Chilean scrum-half was sent from the field. Meanwhile, the true villain - the notorious "French Strangler" - was left to try and restore order.

April 3, 2004: Berkeley 17 vs. Michigan 5

Tries: Joel Drescher (2), anon

Conversion: Joel Drescher

Day two began with another strong Berkeley victory, and the excellent performance was enough to propel the team into the Semifinals.

April 3, 2004: Berkeley v. McGill [Semi-finals]

The Californias and the Canadians had a battle royale, fighting hard to reach the final. The lead changed several times, and the match was forced into extra time. Berkeley, who were playing without subs by this stage of the tournament, dug deep and looked like scoring several times, until McGill broke through in the dying minutes to advance.

April 10, 2004 (Beach Chalet Fields, San Francisco)

Berkeley 25 vs. San Jose Marauders 40

Tries: Dan Olmos, Jeremy Young (2), Tim Lonergan, anonymous

In an ambitious bit of scheduling, only 5 days after returning from a 2-day, 5-game tour, Berkeley RFC lined up against San Jose. Suffering from numerous injuries, dog-tired players, and playing without subs, they struggled against a physical San Jose team. Berkeley's backline looked sharp, and the team ran up five tries, but conceded 40 points to their opposition. Both teams retired post-game to the beach for a hearty clam-bake, and the sun came down on a phenomenal debut season of rugby in Berkeley.

2004 World MBA Rugby Championships Touring Squad:

·       A Bauer
·       J Drescher (c)
·       J Young
·       R McConnell
·       J Fisher
·       L Comolli
·       R Mussig
·       D Schwan
·       D Olmos
·       E Barlow
·       J Hernandez
·       A Jeffers
·       G Garcia
·       N Ganjei
·       K Clugage
·       H Iriarte
·       F Pellerin
·       A Vial
·       G Ferrando
·       S Cilley
·       T Lonergan
·       Pete

Touring Aliases

·       Donkey-Punch Drescher
·       Hammerin' Hector
·       Clutchy Clugage
·       Hightailin' Heraldo
·       "sock it to 'em" Santi
·       Juan-Lo
·       Bounced-Back-Barlow
·       Big-Rig Young
·       France-cack-wah
·       Nick W. Ganja
·       Babyface Fisher
·       The Bald assassin
·       "Don't pass it, run it" Tim
·       Gabe "What's a Neophyte?" Garcia
·       The Australian Crash-test dummy
·       "Get on my ass and push!" Gus
·       Prof. ow Ow OWW! Bauer
·       Loic "The Strangler" Comolli
·       Rosco "I'll come on in the 2nd half" McConnell
·       The Porcelain Emperor
·       DisHonorable Judge Olmos
·       Colonel A. Winston Jeffers of the 3rd Light Hussars, First Duke of Essex, Lord of the Admiralty (As proclaimed by her royal majesty Queen Victoria )