1 win, 2 losses on home turf
Submitted by Bad Boy
Despite the unseemly rainfall, all three rugby games were able to be completed at MacDonald Park this weekend.
The first game saw our women’s team steamroll the visiting Cowichan group [retaining the Yanos Cup] in a game that was played with just 10-aside as the up-island squad continues to struggle with numbers. The home team struck early and often, using the restricted numbers to their advantage while dominating the game by a score of 54-5. Sarina Brooks and Clara Meyer led the Lady Bays with two tries apiece while solo tallies were contributed by Eliza Woods, Daryana Mielecka, Caelyn Huebner, Dani Ewen, Avery Laing and Katrina Sweeney. Eliza’s try was particularly entertaining as she attempted a TV-type dive into the end zone while landing ignominiously on her knees. The women ’s final regular season game is in two weeks against UBC.
Speaking of ‘steamrolling', the JBAA men's Premier Reserve fifteen were mauled 56-7 by the fast-attack UBC team. JBAA continues to fight for a playoff spot but will need a win against Capilano in two weeks to make that happen. Despite the lopsided score, the Bays had a considerable share of possession but were unable to convert their opportunities despite multiple forays into UBC red zone; meanwhile, the speedy visitors pounced on every and all JBAA errors to fatten their lead at a steady pace throughout the match. The only Navy Blue score came at the end of the first half when Toby Ng hit a hole before dishing to Jeremiah Gonevou who bashed over the line. Craig Mitchell-Hermann and Joeli Gonevou also had notable performances on the day.
The Premiere game saw the Thunderbirds shock the home team by scoring off the kick-off at the one minute mark. Another opportunistic try gave them a 14-0 lead before a Thomas Burton penalty got the Bays on the scoreboard. As in the previous game, poor execution of line-outs maimed the JBAA boys attack and allowed a further try by UBC at 25 minutes and despite the next 5 minutes with the home team pressing, the halftime whistle blew on a 21-3 score at the half. Tom Richardson and Jake Thiel were warriors for our boys during this half.
Unfortunately, the beginning of the second half mimicked the first half when UBC scored 8 minutes in, to establish a 28-3 advantage. But a scant 4 minutes later, Jake made a break, passed to Mostyn Findlay who freed up the relentless Richardson to dive into Coffin Corner…28-8. The T-Birds were able to take advantage of rubbish line-outs by the Bays to score twice, taking a commanding lead of 38-8. Much of the second half left the JBAA Faithful longing for clearing kicks to take advantage of the wind and slope; exploiting that edge was apparently not in the players' plan. With time winding down, the proud JBAA squad pressed relentlessly and were rewarded in the dying moment with a Mostyn score to close the game out at 38-13. Along with Mostyn and Tom Richardson, Crosby Stewart played well despite the loss.
The men will host Capilano two Saturdays from now.photo by Jen Ross
