In an effort to continue old rivalries, the UA men's rugby team will hit the road this weekend to face Long Beach State and UCLA with the hope of moving closer to securing a postseason bid.

With matches set for Friday at Long Beach State and Sunday at UCLA, the Wildcats (7-4, 4-1) will be looking to extend their four-match conference winning streak.

The rivalries seem to have lost some of their luster, however, as Arizona has beaten the 49ers seven out of the last eight times, and the Bruins the last nine times.

Head coach Dave Sitton likens the Long Beach State and UCLA rivalries to that of the men's basketball team's competition with Oregon State in the Beavers' glory days.

"The rivalry had, in a way, diminished. Our players don't realize we used to have a rivalry with them," Sitton said. "It is like in basketball, with Oregon State when they had Gary Payton. There were great games."

The last Long Beach win over the Wildcats was in 2001 in an emotional game for the 49ers, as it was the last for legendary head coach Dr. Dale Toohey. Long Beach State erased a second-half, 18-point deficit to win 32-31.

Both the 49ers and Bruins are at the bottom of the conference standings with just one SoCal Conference win a piece. Arizona is a half game behind UC Santa Barbara, who Arizona beat 19-12. UCSB has to play undefeated Cal Poly this weekend.

"We just need the league win," Sitton said. "The good news is we have beaten UCSB."

The top two teams get automatic bids to the tournament.

Sitton said he feels the team has momentum going into their first road trip since the start of February. He also said he felt that the team was not slowed at all by a second half downpour in their last match against UCSD; he believes that being held scoreless for the second half was simply a fluke.

Though Sitton felt the team has improved since their last road trip a month ago, where the Wildcats fell to Cal Poly 41-3 and beat UCSB 19-2, he also is excited that the team can still improve.

"We've improved in a number of areas; if I had to grade the team, I'd give them a B minus," Sitton said. "We have still got a long way to go from here, and I think that is exciting for them."