Stepping over: Junior Iosefa Toia’ivao ’26 Runs through a defender during the Saint Mary's Rugby Match against Long Beach State. / Photo by Rebecca Harper
Men's Rugby Newcomers Make their Mark with a Convincing 87–10 Win over Long Beach State
The undefeated Gaels hold their home opener in Saint Mary’s Stadium on November 16. Strong tackling and fast-paced play set the tone for the day.
Saint Mary’s hosted their first home match on Saturday, November 16, racking up a convincing 87–10 win over Long Beach State. With this victory, the defending national championship Gaels are now 3–0 for the season.
On their home pitch, the Gaels delivered in multiple facets and showed promise for what is to come in the rest of the season. The forwards set the tone with strong tackling, the backs scored with plenty of fast-paced play, and newcomers were able to make their mark early on at home for the first time.
The Gaels got off to a good start with an early try from Sialeafuhia Ofa ’28. Long Beach did not give in easily, however; while the Saint Mary’s offense has been putting up numbers in bunches so far this season, Beach Rugby held strong throughout most of the first half.
Saint Mary’s added to their first half lead with Iosefa Toia’ivao '26 converting off of a successful lineout play by the Gaels. The try made it an early 14–0 lead, but once again Long Beach showed a strong counter with an offensive push. The Gaels forced a turnover to keep the opposition out of the try zone, and a stellar solo effort from Siale Ofa ’27 resulted in his second try of the afternoon.
The Gaels continued the defensive pressure and were able to drive back the Beach Rugby side. This eventually led to Ethan Younger ’27 diving in for a score, and a conversion by Oliver Cline ’26 conversion made it 26–0 in favor of the Gaels. Cline, a transfer from Central Washington University, looked impressive in his first action at home as a Gael. The fly-half should be able to add a lot to the Saint Mary’s offense with his abilities in the kicking game. The Gaels added one more try to their first-half total with a couple of smooth off-loads that finished in the hands of Aisake Tukuafu ’28 for a score of 31–0 at the break.
Coming out of the half, Saint Mary’s committed a penalty and Long Beach elected to kick for points. A well-executed kick from just beyond 40 meters ended the shutout. The Gaels quickly answered when Ofa turned on the jets down the sideline and scored his third try for a hat trick.
Scrumhalf Hunter Modlin ’24, MA ’25 was a smooth operator throughout the afternoon; one of his wise decisions was a quick tap off of a high tackle committed by Long Beach. The Gaels then work the ball down the pitch with a couple of off-loads that finished with Tukuafu’s second try of the match.
Long Beach’s fly-half added some more to his day by scooping up a loose ball and taking it all the way in for the try, making it a 45–10 game. An impressive day for the Beach Rugby fly-half accounted for all 10 of their points.
Saint Mary’s went on to score 42 unanswered to close out the match over the final 27 minutes. The scoring included tries from Toia’ivao, Modlin, Benjamin Hatch ’28, Molitika Ix-Siu ’27, Tatum Pappas ’27, and Joseph Broughton ’25—bringing the final tally to 87–10.
Backs in Space
The Gaels backs looked incredibly dynamic in space, and this should come as no surprise considering the success of the team’s playmakers last season. Saint Mary’s will continue to play their style of fast-paced offense. Adding to this dynamic offense was the kicking game of Oliver Cline, who can help get the ball into space in different ways. Coming into this season, plenty of production graduated Saint Mary’s and left for Major League Rugby, but early on the team looks prepared to replace those players.
First-Years in Action
Plenty of incoming first-years played on the A-side against Long Beach, and they looked the part. Tries were scored by three different Gaels, including the hat trick from Sialeafuhia Ofa. Benjamin Hatch and Aisake Tukuafu also added to the tally in their first home action as Gaels.
Big Saturday, and Up Next
Saturday’s big win was bookended by a couple special rugby events. The morning featured the annual Rugby Alumni Game at 10 a.m. And the evening featured the 15th Annual Patrick B. Vincent Fundraiser Dinner to celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary Gaels coach.
Up next, Silicon Valley and Marin Men's Club make the trip out to Moraga to take on the Gaels at home on November 23, while part of the team travels to UC Santa Barbara for a league game.
