Stanford Men’s Rugby took the long trip to Reno this past weekend to take on University of
Nevada Reno in a Pacific West Conference game. It was a high scoring match, with 96 points
shared between the two teams.

UNR took the early lead with a try and a penalty kick for a 10-0 lead. This seemed to wake up
the Cardinal who responded with 3 quick tries through Senior Captain Jack Landsberg and 2
from Senior scrumhalf Cale Williams. Stanford looked to be in control but with 10 mins left in the
half UNR came roaring back with 2 more tries and a penalty for a halftime score of 27-19.
The second half Started poorly with Stanford conceding another converted try, but the Cardinal
bounced right back and scored through Senior center Guy Kasznik. UNR then went on a run,
scoring 2 more converted tries to take the score to 48-24 with only 15 minutes left on the clock.
Amazingly, Stanford did not give in. They were determined to at least earn a four try bonus point
and did so with some good play across the board. Following a hard run from Senior Flanker
Ariel Bong, Scrumhalf Williams was able to dance his way to the tryline for his hattrick while
Kasnick added the conversion. With 10 minutes left and the score at 48-31 the Cardinal had two
more quick tries from Landsberg and Sophomore lock Christian Bader.
With 5 minutes left on the clock, Stanford was within one try, and eventually completed the
comeback when substitute prop Junior Yusef Ferhani was able to power his way over from short
range to tie the game at 48-48.

The Cardinal showed tremendous character and determination by fighting back from a 24 point
deficit with 15 minutes left on the clock. This week they return to Steuber Stadium to take on
San Jose State University.

Stanford Mens Rugby: 48
Tries: J.Landsberg ‘19 (2), C.Williams ‘19 (3), C. Bader ‘21, G. Kasznik ‘19, Y. Ferhani ‘20
Conversions: G. Kasznik ‘19 (4)

UNR Rugby: 48

After 2 weeks of heavy rain Stanford finally got to play there home owner on what could only be described as a heavy pitch which made the footing and handling difficult for both sides.

The game got of to a great start for the Cardinal who punched in a try after only 8 minutes through Sophomore lock Christian Bader, Senior Guy Kasznik added the conversion for a 7-0 lead. UC Santa Cruz responded with a long phase of pressure using there kicking game to pin Stanford in there own 22, UCSC where able to pounce on an errant clearance kick after 15 minutes and score in the corner to take the score to 5-7, this was soon followed by a penalty which took them into the lead at 8-7. The half continued with a lot of back and forth neither side able to take control due to the tough playing conditions. With 10 minutes left in the half Kasznik pounced for the first of his 4 tries for the day and with 3 minutes left in the half Sophomore fullback Joe McGrath glided in under the posts, Kasznik converted and the half finished with Stanford leading 19-8.

Stanford went into the halftime break with the lead but were not happy with the error count in the first half, they started the second half the way they meant to go on. Increased line speed on defense created pressure and more accuracy on attack saw them extend there lead after only 2 minutes when Kasznik went in at the corner for his second try. It was one way traffic from then on with Kasnik adding 2 more tries and then Bader adding his second try, Kasnik added 2 more conversions for a 43-8 lead. UCSC added a consolation in the 75th minute for a final score of 43-13.

Stanford have a bye week this weekend before they head to Reno to take on UNR on March
3rd.

Stanford Men’s Rugby: 43
G. Kasznik ‘19 X4, J. McGrath ‘21, C. Bader ‘21 X2
Conversions: G. Kasznik X4

UC Santa Cruz Rugby: 13

This past weekend Stanford where expecting to have its home opener, however due to a league Snafu the game was changed to be an away fixture. Stanford made the short trip to San Francisco and took on SF State. It was a game played in heavy rain however Stanford overcame the late change of location and the harsh conditions well and ran out easy victors. Halftime score was 69­-7 and a full time score of 119-­7.

It was great to see some of the Cardinals new players get some valuable playing time and hopefully this will help as the season progresses.

Next up for Stanford will be a tough fixture against UC Santa Cruz. This will be played at the
Steuber Rugby field Saturday 16th at 1pm.

Stanford Men’s Rugby: 119
G. Kasznik ‘19 X2, C. Vidrine ‘20, J. McGrath ‘21 X4, L. Rosas ‘19
B. Brandon ‘19 X2, B. Armistad ‘21 X2, R. Crowley ‘21 X3, E. Zenger ‘19 X2
C. Williams ‘19 X2
Conversions: G. Kasznik X9, J. McGrath, A. McGuirgan, T. Odunawo

San Francisco State Rugby: 7