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Provincial Silver

Boys rugby teams edged in BC finals

Shawnigan's boys rugby teams have ended the season with a bittersweet silver medal.
 
In Abbotsford for the Provincial AAAA Championship, the 1st XV earned a 31-24 victory over rival St. George's in a feisty semifinal on Wednesday. The win qualified Shawnigan for the final, as the team looked to defend top-tier rugby titles won in the past three straight years and eight of the past nine.
 
However, Oak Bay High School had other ideas. Riding a wave of confidence after beating Shawnigan 20-15 in the Island Championship two weeks earlier, the Barbarians scored a historic 24-13 win in Friday's final to secure the AAAA crown.
 
"We would have obviously preferred to have won, but it wasn't due to any lack of effort or desire," says Shawnigan Coach Tim Murdy. The silver-medal performance wrapped up a season in which the senior boys won the B.C. Premier League and the Provincial Rugby Sevens Championship. "We wish the best of luck to our graduating players, and look forward to working with the Grade 11s next year," added Coach Murdy.
 
 
The Colts, likewise looking to defend consecutive B.C. titles, also finished the season with silver medals.  
 
After winning the Island Junior Championship and scoring a decisive win in their semifinal against SMUS, the Colts fell 40-36 in Friday's Provincial final against Earl Marriott Secondary.
 
After a highly successful tour to Italy over Spring Break, the Colts went virtually unchallenged over the season, averaging 63 points for and 12 points against per game. "In the final, we faced a large, excellent and competitive Earl Marriott side, who played with width and passion," Colts Coach Ander Monro says, adding "Unfortunately, we just couldn't get the result we wanted."
 
"It's been an excellent season," shares Coach Monro, whose team also won the B.C. Rugby Sevens title earlier in the year. "We have lots of new players developing well, and lots of skilled players performing well. I'll remember the pace with which we attacked and the quality of tries this group scored."
 
The Colts have one game remaining in the season, as they face a touring side from San Francisco on June 8.
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