The Salish Sea Warriors, a combined Shawnigan Lake Schools and Brentwood College team, came thundering into MacDonald Park on a crazy weather day of high winds, rain and then, thankfully, some glorious sunshine for the second half. When handed the visitor change room keys, Bay’s alumni and Salish coach, Jeff Williams, quips: “I’ve never been in these change rooms!”
The Bays had most of the possession in the first ten minutes of the game but the driving rain lead to the ball being spilled often, halting each attack. Then in a reversal of fortune, the young skilled team from the other side of the hat got on their front foot and popped in the first try of the game at the lower northeast corner of the park. Shortly after, eighth man Ethan Wood got his bell rung and had to leave the game. With five players inactive to begin with this meant the Bays were playing a man down the rest of the way. Lot’s of back and forth play, with the JBAA having the majority of possession but the warriors sure tackling kept them out of the end zone until Noah Kynasten finally punched one over from a breakdown at the five meter line. Neither team had converted so it was tied at 5. The boys in blue continued to pressure and obtain the majority of ball but little mistakes, plus youthful opposition, kept them out of the end zone until just before the half when Beau Boehme darted over the line after multiple phases. Driscoll was good with the convert.
The second half continued in much the same way as the first half with the Bays maintaining most possession and spilling the ball because of mistakes or hard tackles. The Warriors made some good line breaks as they did in the first half but an overall inexperienced team just weren’t as strong at the breakdown as the boys in blue, so they would loose the ball. Relentless pressure continued and miraculously the sun came out to dry out the field some, so the Bay’s errors diminished. Running downhill, scrum half Mitch Buie scrambled off a loose ruck into the end zone; however, the conversion was no good. The Warriors did one last charge and got the ball inside the Bays 22 meter line for a while; however, they just couldn’t get it over the line. This pressure did see loose head prop Jeremy Scott leave the game with a twisted ankle; now the boys were down two for the rest of time. Unfazed, the big blue machine kept rolling with most of the possession and Ty Driscoll darting over the line plus converting his own try.
Final score 24 to 5 in a highly entertaining game of youth rugby.