Cal Poly Eyes Bigger Things
Cal Poly Eyes Bigger Things
Is Cal Poly poised for a great finish this year?
Certainly the Mustangs are enjoying one of their better season in recent times, sitting 4-1 in the California Conference and potentially looking at a DIA playoff spot.
With that in mind, the Mustangs will be taking a Spring Break trip to UCLA, Texas A&M, and then Baylor. That is a clear plan to test themselves and also show they deserve to be considered among the better sides in the division.
Co-captain and flyhalf Jack Marchant likes what he is seeing.
"A ton of it is down to Chris O'Brien," Marchant said of the teams coach, now in his second year. "He is figuring out what helps us click and the buy-in has been really good. We have a lot of guys who care and are showing up and training hard—we have two teams at practice and we're able to go 15 on 15."
The buy-in and the skill is there, but there are things to improve upon. Marchant talks about attitude.
"We have a super-awesome group of guys," said Marchant. "But sometimes we're just too nice. Sometimes we need to get angry and go out there and put some guys in the dirt."
So are they going for the playoffs?
"Is it a conversation we have? Not really but there are whispers," said Marchant. "For me, I'd put us against anyone. We have some tough games coming up and we're looking at it like this: 'why not go out there and give it a fight?' Looking at UCLA and A&M we're not sure how they compare to other teams but that's why we're playing."
There's potentially one other team on Marchant's target list, the only team so far to beat Cal Poly in conference play—Saint Mary's. The Gaels are very strong, as always, but there's the added family factor as Jack Marchant's brother, Joe, is the Saint Mary's captain and tighthead prop.
"My first A-side start for Cal Poly was against Saint Mary's, so we've had that rivalry," said Jack. "Hopefully we can see them again. I am looking to step him and he's looking to hit me."
Did that ever happen?
"He did tackle me once, and no he didn't take it easy on me."
Cal Poly isn't expecting anyone to take it easy on them.
