Keep checking back here today as we update the results of the four semifinal games at the AAA and AA BC bus high school rugby championships in Abbotsford (full championship-side schedule and scoreboard below).
TRIPLE A
SEMIFINAL GAME 2
SHAWNIGAN LAKE 35 LORD BYNG 13
ABBOTSFORD — When you’ve won an unprecedented five straight titles at the largest tier in B.C. high school rugby, chasing No. 6 comes with an outside sense of expectation that is hard to quantify.
The Shawnigan Lake Stags, however, are just keeping themselves busy with the task of each and every game put before them.
On Thursday, the undefeated powerhouse from Vancouver Island got something of a rarity over its dynastic stretch at the B.C. championships: A second straight push from its opposition within the quarterfinal-semifinal juncture of the four-stage provincial tournament.
“I thought we played well today against a good team that made us work for all we got and had us under pressure,” Shawnigan head coach Tim Murdy explained following his team’s 35-13 win over an excellent, well-prepared squad of Lord Byng Grey Ghosts at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium.
“I think the teams are better served with tougher matches whether in playoffs or the regular season,” Murdy explained when asked to comment on the fact that both Yale and Byng put forth gutsy efforts against his No. 1-ranked team. “It forces them into better habits and holds them more accountable when they make the wrong choices. Hopefully, these games have prepared us well.”
With the Stags set to face arch-rival St. George’s in a rematch of last season’s final, and the Saints coming off a 51-3 win over Oak Bay in its semifinal, Shawnigan will have to play its best match of the season to keep its championship shield another year.
“Saints are a very good rugby school and always have been,” said Murdy, whose charges topped St. George’s 10-8 early in the season. “It’s going to be a very difficult match and we have a ton of respect for the way they play the game and the job that their coaches do. It’s going to be a very tough match, hopefully for them, too. It’s the two best teams in the province and that is what the finals should be.”
With an off day to prepare, the Stags, like the Saints, will relish the opportunity to lick wounds and consolidate their focus.
“As we speak, they are sore and tired,” said Murdy, “and I think that they are very excited and relieved. Like I said earlier this week, there is a certain amount of pressure that comes with wearing the jersey. There is a sense of relief and great sense of excitement. They are a great group of kids.”
TRIPLE A GAME 1
ST. GEORGE’S 51 OAK BAY 3
ABBOTSFORD — Vancouver’s St. George’s Saints will get the chance to finish their 2014 season with no regrets.
Powered by a stifling defensive effort, the Lower Mainland powerhouse steamed its way to a decisive 51-3 win over Victoria’s Oak Bay Barbarians on Thursday in the first of two semifinals at the B.C. boys Triple A rugby championships.
Getting its mettle tested in Wednesday’s 32-17 quarterfinal win over North Vancouver’s Carson Graham Eagles, the Saints seemed to be a side determined to respond better to the kind of physical treatment handed them by Carson.
In turn, Saints head coach Mike Stiles felt the response 14 hours later helped his team get better and put itself in a chance to win a provincial title on Saturday.
“I think the boys played well,” Stiles said of his team’s effort versus Oak Bay. “They had a very physical game with Carson, which is what we needed. Carson Graham had improved tremendously over the season and so our guys came into today really fired up to be better than yesterday.”
Saints accumulated tries by the bushel against the Barbarians, including those scored by the likes of Theo Sauder and Braden Lukas.
Marc Levin was a standout from his outside centre position, while Jackson Au and Phil Berna at hooker and No. 8 respectively, shone in defensive assignments.
“We have a core group of 50-to-60 guys, and we have 33 here,” continued Stiles. “The No. 1 thing I can say as a coach is that they are all friends, and that is probably their strongest asset. They have been focussed on getting to Saturday ever since we lost to Shawnigan (20-10 in the 2013 final).”
DOUBLE A GAME 2
COLLINGWOOD 38 HUGH MCROBERTS 5
ABBOTSFORD — Whether metaphoric or not, West Vancouver’s Collingwood Cavaliers played like a certain force of nature on Thursday, turning in a gale-force performance that has carried it all the way to Saturday’s B.C. boys Double A rugby championship final for the fifth straight year.
“There was a big wind out here so we took the wind in the first half and really pinned them down,” said Cavs coach Dave Speirs after Collingwood topped a short-handed but gutsy McRoberts Strikers team from Richmond 38-5. “To be honest, they were missing two of their best guys and at Double A where our rosters are not as deep, it can be hard to recover from that. It gave us some early momentum, but really, we rucked well in the first half. That was a big key for us.”
Leading 19-0 at the half, the Cavs got tries on the day from Owen Stout, Bailey Speirs, Henry Cleghorn, James Kardos, Adam Bushell and Elias Ergas. Bushell also kicked four converts.
The victory, of course, sets up not only a rematch of last season’s championship derby final against crosstown foe Rockridge, but the match also double as the rubber match of a three-game set this season.
Collingwood won the opener, the Roger Hatch Shield game, while the Ravens came on to top Collingwood in the Lower Mainland championship final.
“It’s going to be a war,” laughed Speirs. “We know Rockridge will be strong at what they do well, and that is their great ruck and ferocious tackling. We have to match that and hope the breaks go our way. But it’s going to be a true test for both teams. In a tiny way, this is going to be a lot like what high school sports is like in the states, the big rivalry which makes it fun for both sides.
The championship final kicks off at 2:30 pm on Saturday.
DOUBLE A GAME 1
ROCKRIDGE 20 ST. MICHAELS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL 17
ABBOTSFORD — The Rockridge Ravens played a game of two halves Thursday as the B.C. boys high school rugby championships reached the semifinal round at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium.
From their perspective, they could only be thankful that their first half was better than their second.
Mitch Cameron scored a pair of tries, and Rick Cross added another while Angus Carroll booted a convert and a penalty as the West Vancouver school insured itself a repeat trip to finals, holding off Victoria’s St. Michaels University School Blue Jags 20-17.
“We rushed out to a big lead (20-3) but then our discipline let us down in the second half,” said Rockridge head coach Perino Zambon, whose charges lost in last season’s final to crosstown rival Collingwood. “At the start we played the way we can play. Disciplined. Smart. Physical. In the second half we made some poor choices and gave away some penalties. Then frustration crept in. But St. Mike’s is a hard team to play. They throw it very well they are expansive and they have some very athletic guys, especially on the wings. They can make up 14 points in a hurry.”
The fact that both teams were playing their second game in as many days?
“I’d rather not even make an issue of it,” said Zambon. “And I can’t speak for SMUS. But these are tough kids, they’re young and they work hard and they empower each other. And remember, back in the day it used to be four games in four days.”
BC HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY
(At Abbotsford-Rotary Stadium)
SEMIFINALS
FRIDAY
DOUBLE A
Rockridge 20 SMUS 17
Collingwood 38 Hugh McRoberts 5
TRIPLE A
St. George’s 51 Oak Bay 3
Shawnigan Lake 35 Lord Byng 13
SATURDAY
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
TRIPLE A
4 p.m. — St. George’s vs. Shawnigan Lake
DOUBLE A
2:30 p.m. — Rockridge vs. Collingwood
THURSDAY
QUARTERFINALS
DOUBLE A
Rockridge 46 Southridge 3, SMUS 47 D.W. Poppy 0, Collingwood 32 Mulgrave 12, Hugh McRoberts 10 Brentwood College 9
TRIPLE A
Shawnigan Lake 26 Yale 20, Oak Bay 19 Earl Marriott 13, Lord Byng 21 Robert Bateman 10, St. George’s 32 Carson Graham 17
