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Valley teams meet for B.C. bronze

The battle for bronze at the AAA provincial rugby championships came down to a pair of Cowichan Valley teams.
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Shawnigan Lake School’s senior girls XV celebrates after claiming bronze at the AAA provincial senior girls rugby championships in Abbotsford. (Stephen Lane/Shawnigan Lake School)

The battle for bronze at the AAA provincial rugby championships came down to a pair of Cowichan Valley teams.

Shawnigan Lake School got past Cowichan Secondary 36-7 in the third-place game at the B.C. championships in Abbotsford on Saturday, capping off an impressive season for the young Shawnigan squad.

Shawnigan is a small school in terms of enrolment and qualifies as AA, but asked this year to return to the AAA ranks for the first time in several years. The gamble paid off.

“We did that intentionally because we wanted more of a challenge,” Shawnigan coach Shannon Atkins said. “We wanted to push the players more. The girls rose to the challenge and came third, and we are proud of that accomplishment.”

Cowichan dominated the early going in the bronze-medal match and opened the scoring, but Shawnigan turned the tide and took over.

“The third-place game is hard to get up for after losing a B.C. semifinal,” Cowichan head coach Brad Skene said. “And in this year’s situation we were dealing with extreme heat, but I thought we played our best rugby of the season in the first half against Shawnigan. Our players showed a great deal of grit and resilience in the effort. We lost, but I was pleased with the way that we played.”

Seeded third going in, Shawnigan opened the tournament with an 80-14 win over Semiahmoo. Eight players scored for Shawnigan in the rout, showing how deep the program is. A 24-7 loss to Yale in the semifinals set up the third-place showdown with Cowichan.

The Thunderbirds went into the tournament ranked fifth, but guaranteed themselves a better finish by flipping fourth-seeded Mission Secondary 41-15 in the opener. Cowichan’s longtime rivals Carson Graham, the eventual provincial champions, won the semifinal 40-0.

“Our main goal for the season was to reach the top four and it was fantastic to attain that achievement,” Skene said. “I think there was an attempt and effort to play well but we didn’t perform against a very eager and prepared Carson.”

Shawnigan captain Tayla Bates, a New Zealand import, was named to the President’s XV all-star team.

“She is a warrior,” Atkins said. “She has an incredible work rate and work ethic, and she’s a morale booster; she’s kind to everybody. She leads by example but she also goes and talks to every player on the team and makes them feel like part of the team.”

Bates was thrilled to bring home the bronze medal with this specific group of players.

“This group was like no other group I’ve played with before,” she said. “All the girls are like my best friends. We have a lot of support from the school and the community, but the friendships we’ve made and the bonds we’ve made will last forever.”

A dozen of the 29 players on the Shawnigan roster had never played rugby before, but their experience in other sports helped them adapt quickly to rugby. Shawnigan fielded a relatively young side this year, with only seven players set to graduate, and will return to the AAA level next year with the goal of winning it all.

“The program looks good going forward,” Atkins said.

Brigitte Reid was Cowichan’s selection to the President’s XV. Her team’s fourth-place finish marked the best result since winning the provincial title in 2013, and the future looks promising for the T-Birds as well, with several players set to come back next year.

“Our graduating players walked off the field knowing they got us among the best teams in the province, and our returning players now realize how hard they have to work and how well they have to perform under pressure to play against the best teams,” Skene said. “We are hoping that this year’s experiences will drive the program forward and that we will continue to improve and compete with the best teams in the province.”

The future also looks bright for Brentwood College School’s girls team, which finished eighth in the AA tournament that was also played in Abbotsford last week.

Brentwood coach Marius Felix acknowledged that going 0-3 doesn’t look good “on paper,” but noted that this season was played with the future in mind.

“We took 26 players over, and 21 of them are eligible to return,” Felix said. “The bulk of our best athletes are in Grades 9 and 10.”

Brentwood was never out of contention for a win, losing its three games by two, five and three points.

“We were in all the games,” Felix said. “We were pleased with the way they competed.”

The coaches made sure that every player earned some valuable provincial-championship experience.

“Because we didn’t have a chance to win the whole thing, as has been school policy for several years, we played every player who went on the trip,” Felix said. “Even though we went 0-3, the experience will serve the kids well in the future, and that’s what we as coaches are excited about.”

It remains to be seen how this team will pan out, he acknowledged, but Felix feels good about the group’s potential.

“We had a very good team two years ago, and this team reminds me of that team in 2013,” he said. “The 2015 team was one of the best team’s I’ve ever coached.”

Captain and inside centre Imisi Adeoye was named to the President’s XV for Brentwood.

“She was outstanding,” Felix said.

For Brentwood, there was little to be disappointed with at the AA tournament.

“The kids were great,” Felix said. “They played hard and didn’t give up. They don’t know how to compete at this level yet, but that will come. We’re looking forward to working with them.”



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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