A win at Piggie Park last Saturday propelled the Cowichan/Westshore team into the next round of the provincial First Division women’s rugby championships.
Cowshore defeated Bayside 39-24 in the provincial quarter-final, taking control of the game late in the first half and never letting up.
“It was a very close match for a lot of the first half,” Cowshore’s Jenna Bugden recounted. “But then we had a lineout where Bristine [Gibbons] took it right out of the line and ran through some Bayside girls. And when she went down, the forwards had another great hit up, and then the ball made it all the way down the back line to Linnea [Dalvi]. who scored on the wing.
“After that try it seemed to be our game the rest of the first and second half.”
Dalvi led the attack with five tries, while Selina McGinnis and Irene Borecky added one apiece, and Tyson Beukeboom kicked two conversions. Player of the Game awards, as decided by Bayside, went to Dalvi in the backs and Anahera Mohi in the forwards.
Cowshore will travel to the Mainland this Saturday for a semifinal showdown with Abbotsford. The winner of that match will take on the winner of the other semifinal between Nanaimo and Comox.
Abbotsford defeated Cowshore 52-34 when the teams last met in the last game of the regular season on April 13.