The Frances Kelsey Breakers got the boys AA rugby playoffs under way last week with a big win over Nanaimo District Secondary on Tuesday and a loss to Brentwood College on Thursday, setting the stage for a showdown with Edward Milne this Tuesday for a berth at the Tier 2 provincial tournament.
After some ups and downs against NDSS, the Breakers managed to break away for a 36-10 victory.
“The boys started strong, putting multiple phases together which looked very impressive and resulted in scoring,” coach Craig Schmidt said. “We then fell away from our structured game which allowed a much improved Nanaimo team back in the game.”
After the Islanders got on the board with a try, the Kelsey players got back to what made them successful early on.
“They realized that they need to stick to the system that we practice in order to have success, which they did for most of the game,” Schmidt said.
The forward pack led the way in the win, and Spencer McLaughlin was named Man of the Match.
Brentwood beat Kelsey on Thursday to lock up the No. 1 spot in the North Island division. Brentwood will head to the Tier 1 tournament, while Kelsey was set to play Edward Milne at UVic on Tuesday afternoon for a berth in the Tier 2 tourney.
“Our goal is still to play a structured system for an entire game,” Schmidt said.
Three other Cowichan Valley senior boys rugby teams are also in the playoffs, with their sights set on provincials.
Also at UVic on Tuesday, Brentwood faced South Island AA top seed St. Michael’s University School, and Shawnigan met South Island AAA top seed Oak Bay. Cowichan Secondary, the AAA second seed, took on South Island third seed Belmont at Brentwood.