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Piggies fade after strong first half against Bayside

It was a tale of two halves last Saturday as the Cowichan Piggies played host to Bayside for a First Division rugby exhibition.
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Ty Jones shakes of a Bayside tackler during last Saturday’s match at Piggy Park. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

It was a tale of two halves last Saturday as the Cowichan Piggies played host to Bayside for a First Division rugby exhibition.

The Piggies were the superior team over the first 40 minutes, but only had six points to show for it. Bayside had a slight edge in the second half, but created more offence, and Cowichan ended up on the wrong side of a 19-6 final tally.

“We basically dominated the first half,” said Cowichan head coach Andrew Wright. “We could have had a few more points. It just wasn’t our luck there.”

Owen Wood slotted two first-half penalty goals for the Piggies, providing all the offence the team would get on the day. A missed penalty kick early in the second half saw the momentum change on the scoreboard, although the Piggies still had chances.

Bayside scored a converted try midway through the second half, then added another try about 10 minutes after that, and a third at the end of the game, which was converted.

“It should have been a lot closer,” Wright said. “We were down in their half a lot in the second half. It showed us a few things: what to work on, and what it’s gonna take if we’re going to beat the Mainland teams.”

The match was one of three the Piggies will play against Mainland sides this season. Most of the other Island First Division teams they are facing in the Times Cup competition also have Premiership teams, but Cowichan and Port Alberni don’t, so they have set up exhibition contests with a handful of Mainland clubs to fill out the schedule.

Bayside, from South Surrey, is one of the top teams on the Mainland this fall, having dropped down from the Premiership prior to this season. The younger Cowichan players hadn’t seen much of Bayside’s particular brand of rugby, and it didn’t help that the Piggies were short on numbers.

“It was a hard, physical game, and our bench was a little low on reserves,” Wright said. “If we had a full bench of seven reserves, things would have been a lot different.”

The players remained positive despite the defeat.

“They weren’t down on themselves, which I thought they might be,” Wright said. “We’re all on the same page going forward. If we can keep our numbers strong and work our systems week in and week out, we can show those Mainland clubs what we’re all about.”

Following the match, the players and supporters adjourned to the former clubhouse on Gibbins Road, to bid farewell to the house that has now been sold by the Hearn family.

“It gave a good feel for the young boys to see the heritage and hard work that goes into keeping a club going in a community like this,” Wright said. “It was a good way to finish the day. It would have been better if we pulled the win off.”

The Piggies are off to Port Alberni this Saturday to face the Black Sheep in a Times Cup game.

“It’s tough going over the hump into Port Alberni,” Wright said. “We’ll see if we can pull off a win. The boys are eager and they want some redemption.”

This is the first meeting of the season between the Piggies and Sheep, who are already familiar with each other from heated battles in recent seasons. If the rainy weather holds up, the Piggies could benefit from playing in the mud, which suits their style better.

“We know what we’re up against, although they do have some new Fijian fishermen on their side. They play an expansive, hard-running game. Hopefully the weather plays into our hands.”



kevin.rothbauer@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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