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Sandy • In college football, basketball and hockey, there is considerable debate regarding the best rivalry in the country.
In the fast-growing sport of rugby, there's really no argument — at least for the past 10 years.
It is BYU vs. California.
While the Cougars play the likes of Utah, Utah State and Utah Valley for statewide bragging rights, they generally tangle with the Golden Bears for national championships.
That will happen again on Saturday afternoon, as BYU and California battle for the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup title at 2 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium. The national championship match will be televised by NBC Sports Network.
"It is awesome just being a part of the rivalry with Cal," said BYU's Luke Mocke, a junior from Krugersdorp, South Africa. "BYU and Cal is a terrific match every single year. … I look forward to more of that rivalry, and it is really sweet to be able to play against them year after year and compete against those same guys."
Cal (17-1) got to the title game by knocking off Texas 100-7 and Navy 57-15 in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, while BYU (13-0) defeated UCLA 45-16 and Central Washington 35-8 en route to Saturday's showdown in Sandy.
It will be the third straight year that BYU and Cal will meet in the championship match. The Cougars defeated Cal 43-33 last year and 27-24 in 2013. The Cougars are gunning for their fourth straight national title, having downed Arkansas State 49-42 in the 2012 title game at Rio Tinto.
BYU also won a national title in 2009.
Cougars coach David Smyth said the teams bring out the best in each other, although rugby is an intercollegiate varsity program at Cal and funded by the school. It is a club sport at BYU. In other words, the Bears are on scholarship; the Cougars are not.
"We have great support from our school, too, but it is not at Cal's level," Smyth said. "So that's what is amazing, that these boys can go out and compete against Cal, the reality being that they are a varsity sport and we are an extramural [club] sport."
Saturday's match will mark the ninth time in 10 years that BYU and Cal will meet for a national title. The Bears, who didn't participate in a postseason tournament in 2012, are 9-3 all-time against BYU.
"This is the fulfillment of our dream," said BYU junior Jonny Linehan, hero of the Cougars' 2013 championship win over Cal. "Hopefully we can get one more win and put the cherry on top [of an undefeated season]."
Linehan, who is from Auckland, New Zealand, and commonly referred to around campus as "Jonny Rugby," said he will probably try out for BYU's football team next fall as a punter.
Smyth said that's good, because Saturday's match could be decided by which team is the most physical. One of BYU's top players, Kyle Sumsion of American Fork, is back in town after playing for Team USA in South America the past few weeks, which caused him to miss the Central Washington match.
Cal lost all-everything captain Seamus Kelly to graduation, but is better overall that it was last year, Smyth said.
"Most of their guys are returners, with a year under their belt," Smyth said. "Their skill players are very good as well, and they play off their big men, and they've got some big boys. They are bigger than us, so they can get in and do what they want to do. That's what is going to help them."
Cal coach Jack Clark said his Bears will be ready.
"They are the defending national champions and they are undefeated," he told Calbears.com. "Say no more. As daunting a task as it is, we love playing BYU. They bring out the best in us."
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. Cal
P Varsity Cup national collegiate rugby championships, at Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy
Saturday's schedule
Rugby fan festival • East Lawn, 11 a.m.
D1AA championship • Utah State vs. Utah Valley, noon
Varsity Cup national championship match • BYU vs. California, 2 p.m.
TV • NBCSN