After a mid-week Metro League win over Amherst, 40-4, the Harvard men's rugby club lost to its toughest opponent Saturday, as the East took on the West in front of 100 spectators at Soldiers Field. The Crimson was pummelled, 45-9, by Cal-Berkeley, leaving Harvard 7-3 overall and 4-1 in the league as it heads into the New England Championships this weekend.

The Crimson took a 6-3 lead early in the game and played the Bears close for most of the first half. But after the first 20 minutes, Harvard was simply overpowered by the California team, which has won six of the last eight national championships.

Harvard Co-Captain Scott Hilinski noted how a game like Saturday's against Berkeley is an enjoyable opportunity to test the Crimson's skills against a superior opponent without losing ground in its league standings.

"It was great to have the best team in the country come so far to play," Hilinski said. "It was a fun game."

California and New England have the best rugby teams in the country, and the match gave Harvard the chance to play a team from outside the ivy walls and rate itself and New England rugby.

California seems to be winning both matchups. In addition to its defeat of the Crimson, the Bears destroyed Dartmouth earlier in the week and now go on to face Boston College in a match which should be easier for the Western team than either of the two it has already won.

The Crimson next plays in the New England Championships on Saturday. Its first match will be against the University of Connecticut, and a win would advance it to a match against Northeastern, the only league team to which the Crimson has this lost this year (13-12). A win against North-eastern will probably lead Harvard into a finals showdown with Dartmouth, the number-one ranked team in New England.