Powell River Otago Rugby Club won another 10-a-side rugby tournament, this time, in Powell River. At Cranberry Field on April 12, teams from Victoria and Cowichan travelled here to take to the rugby pitch in perfect weather.
The first game for Otago was against Rising Tide from Victoria.
“They wanted to beat us so badly,” said Otago spokesperson Jack Beardmore. “They haven’t beaten us once in the last year. This was our fourth game against them. The final score of the game was 33-5.
“Our guys came out fired up. The boys played the way we have been practising all month. They stuck to the plan and they worked the plan.”
Beardmore said he was pleased with how Otago team members were there in support of one another.
“It almost looked like we were a first division side because we were playing so tight,” said Beardmore. “That said, you get up against the first division side and you find you're not quite there, exactly.”
Beardmore said in the second game, Rising Tide had to play back-to-back, going up against Cowichan, which made it tough for the Victoria team.
“Cowichan is a good side – there’s no two ways around it,” said Beardmore. “They put it to Rising tide pretty well, with the final score being 30-10. Cowichan had quite a few younger players and a couple are playing first division, so they were good. Rising Tide, by the end, ran out of gas and that is when Cowichan put a few more trys on them.”
The third game of the tournament featured Otago against Cowichan. Beardmore said Cowichan beat Otago pretty handily in a 10-a-side tournament in Cowichan in March. He added that Otago coach Geoff Matheson wanted his players to come out strongly against the opposition.
“It ended up with Sawyer Gowan making some phenomenal runs and breakthroughs and two trys were scored in the first half, with one of them converted; so, at halftime, it was 12-0 for Powell River,” said Beardmore. ““In the second half, Cowichan came out quickly and scored a try and the score was 12-5, but we went right back and answered, so we moved up to 17-5. They returned another try, and we answered late in the game to put it away with our fourth try, winning the game 22-10, and taking the tournament. That was great. Geoff was so happy.”
Beardmore said the team was disciplined, sticking to the training and practice it has been conducting. He said Otago was tight defensively and team members were good at taking the opposition’s space. Other than a dropped ball resulting in one of Cowichan’s speedy players picking it up and running about 40 metres for the try, Otago played flawlessly, according to Beardmore.
Combined competition
At the end of 10-a-side play, one more game was organized. It was supposed to be a conventional 15-a-side game, but the travelling teams were banged up, so could only field 13 players. Otago played a 13-a-side game against the combined Cowichan and Rising Tide squads. Beardmore said Otago, just having played a game against Cowichan, was tired. In the first half, the Island opposition team went up 12-7.
“We were right there with them,” said Beardmore. “However, in the second half, you could see, because we played back-to-back, that our guys were getting tired. The Island players put up another try on us early in the second half to extend the lead to 17-7, but Edward Best, our captain, scored a lovely try, putting us just one try down.”
The Island opposition team, however, came on strong at the end of the game and put together one more good drive for a final score of 22-12.
“They had their best players out there, the younger guys, and we were running out of gas,” said Beardmore. “We were able to stick with them until the very end.
“It was a great day of rugby. Afterward, the camaraderie was phenomenal. A lot of the Island players had never been to Powell River before and they were just in awe of our clubhouse, taking pictures of themselves there. I gave a little history and explained to them how the clubhouse was paid for by us. They were really impressed.”
Otago still has some rugby action ahead. Beardmore said on May 10, Otago will be travelling to Victoria to take part in the final 10-a-side spring tournament, which is being organized by the Rising Tide. He said the three teams that played here will be in the tournament, along with Victoria Castaway Wanderers.
“They will all be gunning for us,” said Beardmore. “Otago has been dominant so far in the last year with these tournaments. We played three tournaments last fall and won all three. We played in Cowichan earlier this year and they beat us, but with us winning the Powell River tournament, we’ve won four out of five so far.”
After the final 10-a-side, Otago will be travelling to Port Alberni on May 31 to face the Black Sheep.
“It’s going to be a tough, tough match for us,” said Beardmore. “They have a very strong first division side and we’ll probably be up against some of them.”
Beardmore said it will be a full 15s game against Port Alberni.
Also on the calendar is the Otago 50th anniversary weekend on June 20 and 21. Beardmore said along with attracting Otago players, Otago alumni and rugby fans, there will be teams travelling to Powell River to take part. Cowichan is coming with a full old boys side, as will Ebb Tide, from Victoria. Nanaimo is sending some players, as will a team from Burnaby.
“All of a sudden, we have 50 more people coming to the banquet that weren’t expected,” said Beardmore. “It’s going to make for a phenomenal weekend, with some great rugby on June 21. I’m so excited about it. It’s going to be fun. The team has been working hard to make it a success, organizing it and getting things done. It’s a real Otago club effort, straight across the board.”
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