ABBOTSFORD — The Final Fours have been set, and although everything has gone according to ranking at both the B.C. senior boys Double A and Triple A rugby championships, it’s never quite as simple as it seems.
Here’s out look at the two tiers:
TRIPLE A
SCOREBOARD
Yale 46 Lord Tweedsmuir 0
St. George’s 43 Robert Bateman 11
Earl Marriott 26 Oak Bay 18
Shawnigan Lake 58 Handsworth 3
SEMIFINALS
THURSDAY (at Abbotsford-Rotary Stadium)
4:30 p.m. — Yale vs. St. George’s
6:30 p.m. — Earl Marriott vs. Shawnigan Lake
TRIPLE A
EARL MARRIOTT 26 OAK BAY 18
This has quickly become one of the best rivalries in the province, and that’s not hard to understand when you consider that in their recent B.C. tournament history, the Mariners and the Barbarians have met three times in the quarterfinals and once in the third-place showdown.
On Wednesday, Surrey’s No. 4-seeded Mariners rallied from a 15-14 halftime deficit to beat Victoria’s Barbarians by eight points.
“Fantastic win,” said Marriott head coach Adam Roberts. “It was an awesome battle, and now we’re right where we want to be.”
The contest was a see-saw affair until Earl Marriott went ahed with about 15 minutes to go and built control over the final stages of play.
“The boys stick with it and they stayed the course,” said Roberts. “There is a ton of mutual respect between the coaching staffs.”
Rhys McMartin, EMS outside centre, stepped up on the day and scored a pair of tries for the winners.
Fly half Liam Morrison continued to showcase his outstanding kicking ability.
“He was on fire with his foot and he kept is on our front foot for most of the game,” the coach added.
Logan Smith at at scrum half and No. 8 Michael Smith also shone in the win for the Mariners, who draw No. 1-ranked Shawnigan Lake in a 6:30 Thursday semifinal.
“We just got back from Japan where we played the world’s best,” Roberts added of the Mariners participation in the Sanix Youth classic. “Our kids have felt every bit of pressure and we have played Shawnigan already this year. I think our guys are ready to go.”
SHAWNIGAN LAKE 58 HANDSWORTH 3
The No. 1 Stags were heavy favourites heading in, and head coach Tim Murdy counted his team’s Wednesday victory over the North Shore’s No. 8 Royals as an important part of the progress needed to build towards a potential title-game appearance on Saturday.
“I thought we played pretty well,” said Murdy. “It’s tournament play, so we set little goals for ourselves and try not to lower our standard and be consistent. We were happy for most part.”
Getting ready for Marriott, Murdy is well aware of the fact that the Surrey team has only helped itself by its experience abroad at Sanix.
“They are a good team, well coached and the competed this year in the Sanix,” began Murdy, “so they would have played many games at a high standard. It makes them a formidable foe, for sure.”
ST. GEORGE’S 43 ROBERT BATEMAN 11
Abbotsford’s Bateman Timberwolves earned the full respect of the defending champs.
No. 2-ranked St. George’s needed to find some true resolve in order to beat the No 7-ranked Wolves. And as Saints’ assistant coach Bill Chamberlain said afterwards, the score was not indicative of the play.
“Bateman was good,” said Chamberlain. “They had a good, solid game plan and they they executed it.
“I don’t know what it is about the quarterfinal game, but we always find it to be a tight, tough game. There’s a bit of break between the last game, then there’s the opening ceremonies. It’s a hurry-up-and-wait mentality and it can be hard for the boys to get rolling. But full credit to Bateman. They had a game plan and they stuck to it.
The Saints, winners over Shawnigan Lake in last season’s final, will have to beat a team on a true roll, if they expect to return.
St. George’s faces Abbotsford’s Yale Lions, who are coming off a big win over Earl Marriott in the Fraser Valley championship final. The two teams met once this season with the Saints winning, but that was at the start of the campaign.
“This is like a whole other season,” continues Chamberlain. “Yale is firing on all cylinders, and winning the Fraser Valley is always a real feat in and of itself. They are one of the best teams.”
YALE 46 LORD TWEEDSMUIR 0
The No. 3 Lions played lights-out defence against a Valley foe.
“Our boys got off to a really good start,” said Yale head coach Doug Primrose. “They supported each other, the ball kept moving, we found space and they worked hard.”
Tweedsmuir, the 11th seed, and coming off an emotional victory in Saturday’s opening round against No. 6 Lord Byng of Vancouver was just the kind of emotionally-charged team no one wants to play.
But the Lions, like their school’s senior boys B.C. Triple A basketball team, are playing their best rugby at the most important stage of the season.
“They have gotten better every single game and today was best game they have played all season,” said Primrose. “So they need to bring it all tomorrow. They are starting to come together as a team, and they are playing for each other.”
DOUBLE A
SCOREBOARD
South Kamloops 35 Southridge 17
Rockridge 53 Brentwood College 0
Collingwood 41 Glenlyon Norfolk 17
St. Michaels University School 74 McRoberts 0
SEMIFINALS (at Abbotsford-Rotary Stadium)
1:30 p.m. — South Kamloops vs. Rockridge
3 p.m. — St. Michaels University School vs. Collingwood
ABBOTSFORD — Make no mistake about it, it’s not easy playing the biggest game of your season at 10:30 a.m.
Yet to varying degrees of efficiency, Thursday’s four quarterfinal winners all went about the task of punching tickets to the semi-finals.
“We met at our school at 7:30 a.m., which isn’t ideal for teenage boys,” admitted Collingwood head coach Dave Speirs, whose No. 3 Cavaliers of West Vancouver went on to beat Victoria’s Glenlyon Norfolk’s No. 6 Gryphons 41-17. “I can be hard to get your motor revving when you are used to playing all of your games at 4 p.m.”
By no means a runaway, the Cavs wore down their opposition in the second half.
“It was a lot tougher than it might look (by the score),” said Speirs of the game his team led 15-10 at half-time.
Now, the road gets tougher for Collingwood.
No. 2 St. Michaels University School Blue Jags of Victoria rolled to a 74-0 win over No. 7 Hugh McRoberts of Richmond, its shutout of the Strikers setting up a 3 p.m. clash against the Cavs.
On the other side of the draw, No. 1 Rockridge of West Vancouver was busy living up to its lofty ranking, topping Mill Bay’s Brentwood College 53-0.
Yet despite the shutout, Rockridge head coach Perino Zambon was taking nothing for granted heading into the game.
“Sometimes that can be a bit of a trap, the time of first game,” said Zambon. “I find that the game can go one of two ways. Some years you feel comfortable and some years, it’s just a very tight game. We were lucky today that things just clicked.”
There is also no chance to scout teams with all four games being played at the same time, and when the foe is the little-known South Kamloops Titans, that can make things uncomfortable.
“I have no idea what to expect from them.” Zambon said of the Titans, a former Triple A program which has moved to Double A this season and beat Surrey’s Southridge Storm 35-17 in its quarterfinal. “I just know that back around 2005-07, they had the makings of a strong program. We know one of their boys, who is a very good rep player. And we are expecting them to have a ton of tough, athletic kids.”
Friday is an off day from the championship draw, with finals slated for Saturday at both tiers.
