Saint Mary’s is now 3-0 in the California Conference after beating San Diego State 62-5 this past Saturday, a dominating performance that SMC head coach Tim O’Brien said was no reflection on the Aztecs.

“I thought SD State had some really good defensive structures,” O’Brien said. “I think we played some good rugby. I like the tempo and I like the intent. They were challenging us and made us work.”

San Diego State has a good idea about how it wants to play, but even the best laid gameplan can be difficult to maintain against Saint Mary's aggressive style, which is committed to playing at a fast pace and takes what others see as risks.

“I am big about our intent,” O’Brien said. “We’re trying to do some new things all the time.”

Aaron Matthews (pictured above) and Ronan Murphy scored two tries each, but it was a nice team effort from the Gaels.

Next up for Saint Mary’s is a non-conference game against Olympic Club this Saturday. The O-Club lost 87-19 to Cal over the weekend, although it was hurt by flanker Bruce Thomas getting a red card (after receiving two yellows, one of which was a team-related technical yellow card).

“Olympic Club will be a good challenge for us," O'Brien said. "They’ve got some really strong players who have played in college.”

This weekend's matchup is the first game in a multi-year agreement between Saint Mary’s and FloRugby to live-stream SMC's home games. Olympic Club, Glendale men’s club, BYU, Cal, and UC Davis are on the slate this spring.

Saint Mary’s Upcoming Games On FloRugby

Feb. 3: Olympic Club at Saint Mary's

Feb. 17: BYU at Saint Mary's

Feb. 21: Glendale at Saint Mary's

March 3: UC Davis at Saint Mary's

April 7: Cal at Saint Mary's