ABBOTSFORD — No boys rugby team in B.C. anticipates dramatic finishes quite like Surrey’s Earl Marriott Mariners.
After all, they finish each practice by attempting a last-second drop goal, a play that carries with it an extreme degree of difficulty.
On Wednesday, as the 2013 B.C. Triple A championships hit the quarterfinal stage at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium complex, all of that practice paid off.
Trailing 12-10 to Abbotsford’s Robert Bateman Timberwolves, Earl Marriott head coach Adam Roberts signalled in that very play, and with one second remaining in the game, fullback Tomasi Vataki sent a perfectly executed drop-goal through the uprights from 15 metres out, sending the Mariners to a heart-stopping 13-12 victory and spot in Thursday’s provincial semifinal (4:30 p.m.) against the four-time defending provincial champion Shawnigan Lake Stags.
“It’s crazy, but this team has a total flair for the dramatic,” said an elated Roberts after the victory. “This team just stays in the fight, they keep swinging. It was just so rad that they kept on battling.”
Vataki wasn’t even sure he would be able to make the kick, and said as much to Roberts. But the sure-footed Canadian Under-17 select expertly let the ball kiss off the ground for just a brief second before booting it through the uprights, igniting mass celebration from his teammates and taking the earth out from under the Bateman players.
“I love their guys,” said Roberts of the Bateman players. “Those kids played super hard. My heart goes out to them. They defended the goal-line like champions.”
While his players were clearly gutted to their core after coming back from a 10-0 halftime deficit, Bateman head coach Stephen Rowell could only applaud their efforts.
“You have to win with dignity and you have to lose with dignity,” the classy Rowell said following the match. “My players put everythign they had on that field. (Vataki) is not just an average kid. He’s a world-class player. It’s hard, it’s tough. But we couldn’t ask any more.”
The Mariners regular kicker, Colin Stonier, was injured in the final 30 seconds of play and was unable to make the kick, setting the stage for Vataki’s heroics.
Winger Cole Guolo and Vataki had scored unconverted first-half tries to put the Mariners on top 10-0 at the break. In the second half, Bateman rallied, pulling to within 10-5 on a corner try by No. 8 Jason Kim, then taking a 12-10 lead with 10 minutes remaining when flanker Trenton Chard pounced on a Marriott turnover and turned it into a try converted by Gavin Rowell.
Roberts didn’t think his team would have any trouble regaining focus for the powerhouse Shawnigan Lake side on Thursday.
“These kids never get too high or too low,” he said. “They love to talk, joke, be light, and then when it comes time to get into a rock n’ roll battle, they step up to the plate.”
Shawnigan Lake advanced to the semifinals with a 27-5 win over West Vancouver. The Yale Lions of Abbotsford will face the No. 1 St. George’s Saints of Vancouver in Thursday’s other semifinal (6 p.m.) after the Lions beat Kelowna 18-3, and the Saints topped Victoria’s Oak Bay Barbarians 73-3.
Rockridge Ravens’ flanker Jack Rainer cuts a swath through the Heritage Park Highlanders in B.C. boys Double A rugby quarterfinals Wednesday in Abbotsford. (John Van Putten, Abbotsford Times)
*In the Double A quarterfinals:
Thursday’s semifinal matchups see Victoria’s St. Michaels University School Blue Jags face West Vancover’s Collingwood Cavaliers at 1:30 p.m., while at 3 p.m., West Van’s Rockridge Ravens clash with Brentwood College of Mill Bay.
SMUS beat McRoberts of Richmond 33-7, Collingwood beat Rick Hansen of Abbotsford 41-17, Brentwood beat Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham 37-3, while Rockridge beat Mission’s Heritage Park 18-13.
“It was good to get through a tough first game,” said Rockridge assistant coach Bruce Rainer, whose side got tries from fullback Evan Coleman and winger Eric Lem, as well as two penalties and a convert from kicker Angus Carroll. “It was wet out there, and there were a lot of handling errors but we hung in.”
GIRLS SOCCER BEGINS THURSDAY
Surrey’s Panorama Ridge Thunder are back and set to defending their title as the B.C. senior girls Triple A soccer championships open a three-day run Thursday.
Terry Fox of Port Coquitlam, Kelowna, Stelly’s of Victoria and hometown Argyle are among the top seeds at the 16-team event set to run at Inter River Parks in North Vancouver.
Games begin each day at 9 a.m., with the championship final slated for 11:45 a.m. on Saturday.
