Because of the many format changes in Vancouver Island rugby, particularly in the First Division, it’s hard to say how long it has been since the Cowichan Piggies won the Cowichan Cup. The Cup even allegedly went “missing” in a rival team’s trophy case for several years.
But it’s safe to say it had been many years since the trophy ended up in the possession of the eponymous team. Until Saturday, that is, when the Piggies beat Westshore 22-12 to capture the Island First Division title.
“It’s the first time we’ve had our hands on it in an official capacity in a while,” Cowichan head coach Gord McGeachy confirmed.
In existence since the 1920s, the trophy takes the form of a sterling silver rugby ball, complete with a big dent where someone allegedly tried to drop kick it in the 1950s. Given the chance to reclaim it, the Piggies made sure it didn’t elude them.
“We did everything we needed to do to give ourselves a chance to win,” McGeachy said. “They put a lot of pressure on themselves to win and didn’t respond well to it.”
As McGeachy expected based on the last regular-season meeting between the teams, the Island final was a tight, aggressively contested game.
“Our defence was physical in tackling and quick off the line to put a lot of pressure on them, and it worked very well,” They’re an offensively gifted team, and to hold them to 12 points over the course of a game is a pretty good achievement.”
The Piggies got off to a great start, going up 7-0 on a try by Dan James and conversion from Jenner Teufel in the eighth minute. About five minutes after that, James Patterson scored on the wing for a 12-0 lead.
Cowichan kept the momentum and continued to exert pressure, and just missed capitalizing on a few other scoring opportunities. The Piggies let up a bit late in the half and Westshore took advantage of a defensive lapse with about 10 minutes remaining to score a converted try, and the score stood at 12-7 at the break.
“We were happy to have the lead at the end of the first half.,” McGeachy said. “We had done a lot of work to get there, but there was still a ton of rugby left to play.”
McGeachy started to make substitutions from his deep bench in the second half, and while it helped a bit, the Piggies found themselves under pressure again and another defensive error led to another Westshore try, and the score was knotted at 12-12.
After that, the game got bogged down in a defensive battle.
“There were a lot of penalties, a lot of scrums, but not a lot of offensive chances until late in the second half,” the coach said.
Teufel restored the Piggies’ lead with a penalty kick with about six minutes to go. The Piggies kept up the pressure. The teams exchanged kicks, and on the Piggies’ possession, Matt Melgaard chipped the ball ahead and Patterson chased. A Westshore player recovered the ball, but Patterson levelled him and Melgaard picked up the ball and took it over the line. Teufel slotted the conversion to ice the victory.
“It was a very exciting game,” McGeachy said. “Even though it wasn’t very high scoring, it was a physical, emotional game.”
McGeachy had plenty of praise for his front row of James, Kieran Lauridsen and Andrew McPherson, with Scott McLeod replacing McPherson as the game wore on.
“There’s kind of a cliché in rugby that a game is won and lost in the front row,” the coach said. “Our front row was very dominant on the day, and that was something we had targeted as an area where we thought we had an advantage. It’s hard to win rugby games when you’re going backwards like our front row was making them do.”
As Island First Division champions, the Piggies have advanced to the provincial final four, and they will play host to the upstart Surrey Beavers in the B.C. semifinal Saturday at 1 p.m.
“They’re a bit of a wild card,” McGeachy said of the Beavers. “They’re not a team that’s traditionally in the mix for the playoffs, but they’ve been very good this year.”
The Beavers play a straightforward brand of rugby, with big, strong forwards and speedy backs. The aforementioned front row will be key to beating Surrey.
“First things first, we’ll see if we can match them up front,” McGeachy said. “We feel that whatever team we play against, that’s an advantage for us.”
A win over Surrey will put the Piggies in the provincial final, which they could end up hosting if the two Premier league finalists are both from the Mainland.