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The BLRC tend to travel heavy wherever we go and the support on this day was no different. The club executive would like to thank the 150 or so BLRC members and supporters that came to Victoria to be heard that day and would like to make special note of the members of the Kamloops Raiders Rugby Club that made the extra long trip on the BLRC Fan Bus!! Your support means SO MUCH to the players on the field.
All 3 teams met for breakfast at the hotel on Saturday morning before breaking into their teams for some pre game logistical meetings and to make their way to Wallace Field. The BLRC Women would be up first and the Men’s teams had adjusted their pre game schedule to make it to the field early to cheer on the ladies!
Women’s Premier Final: BLRC 17, Velox 13
BLRC and Velox have contested for the BC Championship for the last 3 years. In 2011, BLRC pulled out a close victory and last year saw Velox do the same! The BLRC girls were expecting a battle and Velox delivered. The 1sthalf was all Blue + White as the pack moved the ball downfield and Captain Julia Sugawara punished Velox penalties with her foot. An unconverted Abby “South Stands” Goodwin try and 3 penalty kicks for Julia combined with one for the Velox kicker had the half time score at BLRC 14 –Velox 3 .
But, the game was a tale of two halves. In the 2nd half, just about everything Velox tried worked, and just about everything the BLRC tried failed. Velox were able to close the gap with 2 unconverted tries both from long sustained phases, and the game seemed to be unravelling for the BLRC but a rare 2nd half Velox penalty allowed Sugawara to add 3 more points and the game would end 17 to 13 in favour of the BLRC. BIG Congrats to the BLRC Ladies, the 2013 Gordon Harris Memorial Cup Champions!
Men’s Premier Final: BLRC 10, JBAA 18
As the Victoria Time Columnist called it, this match was like the Mariners vs the Yankees for the World Series. James Bay, a regular at BC Rugby’s big dance and the BLRC not having made the Provincial finals in such a long time that few could agree on the year.
The BLRC approached the match confident that if they played “their game” a victory was certainly in their grasp. James Bay must have heard and set up a game plan that knocked the Blue + Whites off of their game all day. The veteran leadership of players like J + M Williams, Moonlight, Yoon, Dalziel and Miles combined with the explosive running of White and Wilson-Ross was too much for the BLRC to overcome and the boys tasted defeat. The James Bay forwards contested every lineout and challenged every ruck which is what you need to do in a Championship game. The JBAA backs kept the ball in the BLRC end for about 75% of the game with their tactical kicking. It’s hard to score when you’re inside your own 22!! The BLRC showed some flashes of excitement on the rare occasion that they found themselves in a scoring position and while it was fitting that the BLRC’s season MVP Joe Dolesau accounted for all 10 BLRC points, it was also just as fitting that a De Goede (Jim) dove over the try line for James Bay to put the nail in the coffin with about 5 minutes left to play.
Congrats to James Bay, the well deserved, 2013 Rounsefell Cup Champions!
A big thank you to the Velox Rugby Club who opened the doors of their clubhouse to the BLRC players and many of our supporters looking for a place to enjoy a few post game refreshments.
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