Otago Rugby Club’s first 10-a-side rugby tournament was a tremendous success, according to a club official.
The tournament, held August 24 at Cranberry Field, attracted four men's teams and a group of women who played two games against each other.
“We have rated the tournament five stars out of five,” said team coordinator and spokesperson Jack Beardmore. “Everybody worked together on this and it turned out to be what we anticipated. The only shortfall was the lack of women and that was due to scheduling commitments.”
Beardmore said there was a women’s seven-a-side tournament in Victoria the same day, which drew potential players from the Powell River tournament.
The first game played in the tournament featured Otago against Rising Tide from Vancouver Island. In what was perhaps the most exciting game in the tournament, Otago won 26-21.
“Everybody said it was probably the best game,” said Beardmore. “Both teams were fresh and both teams definitely wanted to win that game. It came right down to the end. It was exciting for me, and for my nephew Will, who scored his first try ever in that contest. It was a good back-and-forth game.”
The second game featured two Vancouver Island teams, with Nanaimo Hornets taking on the Barbarians.
“The Barbarians were definitely the weaker team,” said Beardmore. “That game ended up being 36-12 in favour of Nanaimo.”
The next match featured the women, who were playing a seven-a-side style. Many of the players in the game were from Powell River, with some out-of-towners making up the rest of the ranks. The team wearing multi-coloured jerseys beat the blue team 20-10.
“It was a really exciting game,” said Beardmore. “There were some great runs.”
Next was the big match of the tournament, with Otago facing Nanaimo.
“We knew whoever won this game would win the tournament,” said Beardmore. “Unfortunately for us, we came out on the short end of that one, 14-7.
“They beat us by one try. When you play a game that is two trys to one, you know, that’s a good game of rugby. There were some hard hits in that game, which was really well played.”
In the next game, Rising Tide took to the pitch against Barbarians and won 26-0 in a dominant performance.
Next on the schedule was the second women’s game, with the blue team avenging their initial loss and winning 35-15 over their opponents.
Nanaimo had a final contest of the day against Rising Tide, winning the match 29-12. The final matchup featured Otago against Barbarians, with the local side winning by a score of 14-0.
“It was a successful day for us,” said Beardmore. “We lost one match by one try.”
Beardmore said the team appreciated the large number of spectators who showed up to watch tournament action.
“It was wonderful to see so many people out on a beautiful day for rugby,” said Beardmore. “We had fantastic support.”
The team received sponsorship from Townsite Brewing, 460 Realty, the Co-operators insurance agency and the Chopping Block. Beardmore said Otago appreciates the interest and support shown by local businesses.
Because of the tournament’s success, Beardmore said Otago wants to make the 10-a-side tournament an annual event.
“I’ve received text messages from all the clubs that were here saying what a phenomenal day of rugby it was,” said Beardmore. “They’ve put their names down for next year. Comox men and women couldn’t make it this year because they had two weddings on the weekend, but they have already said they want to be here for sure next year.
“Once word gets out, we’ll probably have a few more teams wanting to come. We can’t accommodate too many more without being maxed out. It’s a lot of work. We could maybe host two or three more teams, like two more men’s teams and another women’s team.”
Beardmore has now retired from coaching Otago, which he has done for 42 of the 49 seasons the rugby club has been in existence. The new coach is Geoff Matheson, who has modernized the club’s coaching, using computers to illustrate what the club should be doing, rather than scratching plays out on a whiteboard, which was Beardmore’s methodology.
“Our players can see the actual movement they should be doing right on their phones,” said Beardmore. “Geoff’s doing a great job. It’s time for me to move out of the way.”
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