SILVER can sting when it's gold that you're after and two North Shore schools experienced the bittersweet satisfaction of giving their all in scoring second-place finishes in B.C. rugby provincial championship finals held Saturday in Abbotsford.
In AAA action Carson Graham made the final where they ran into a buzzsaw in Shawnigan Lake, with the Vancouver Island private school collecting their fourth straight title in a 22-5 victory. At the AA level Collingwood School took on Brentwood College in a rematch of last year's final but were unable to repeat their 2011 feat, losing a tough final 14-7. Fellow West Van school Rockridge finished third in AA.
For Carson Graham the loss to Shawnigan was tough to take but the Eagles should feel proud of how they battled against a very tough opponent, said head coach Tom Larisch.
"Our kids believed and we gave it a go. I'm exceptionally proud of them," said Larisch.
"We had an exceptional group of players and they did the best they could and they peaked and played very, very well, and I couldn't have asked anything else of them."
Carson started the tournament with a big win over Argyle and then faced Handsworth, another North Vancouver rival, in a quarterfinal contest. The Royals, coming off an upset opening round win over Robert Bateman secondary, gave the Eagles all they could handle before eventually losing 36-24. Handsworth ended up in seventh place in the tournament.
"Handsworth played outstanding - full credit to them," said Larisch, adding that the tough quarterfinal battle between the two North Van teams helped push Carson Graham to the final. "They were the best thing that could have happened to us. They opened our eyes. . . . It was exactly what we needed."
The Eagles went on to register a convincing 44-13 semifinal win over St. Michaels University to book their place in the final. Carson Graham was the last team to beat Shawnigan in the provincial championships, knocking them off in the 2008 final, but that was not to be this year as the Stags, coached by former North Shore rugby guru Tim Murdy, jumped out to a 17-0 lead and held on for the win. National sevens team prospect Nathan Yanagiya scored the lone try for the Eagles.
"I thought in the first half we actually deserved to be leading," said Larisch. "We gave up a heartbreaking try at the end of the half to put them up 10-0 while we, I thought, had the majority of the territory. There were a couple of opportunities in the game where we could have put some points on the board but their defence held and we had a couple of unlucky calls go against us and in the end it was a 22-5 score but I thought it was closer than that."
Shawnigan's win capped an incredible season for the team in which they travelled to the Sanix World Youth Invitational tournament, a sort of high school rugby world cup held every year in Japan, and scored a preliminary victory over the New Zealand team that went on to win the title. As a private boarding school that puts a lot of emphasis on its rugby program, Shawnigan has built itself into a near unstoppable force in provincial play.
"Shawnigan Lake is a bit of a monster right now, they're almost unbeatable," said Larisch. "It was really rewarding to give it a go and almost do it but it's also quite frustrating. . . . They attract talent from all across the country and even (other) parts of the world and they specialize at it and it's difficult to compete."
The Eagles, however, won't stop trying to bring down the champs.
"It's a higher bar and it's very difficult for us or any other school to compete," said Larisch, adding that this year's Carson team was comparable to other championshipwinning Eagles teams of the past. "I think this is one of the best teams I've ever coached. They were as good as the teams in '08 and '06 and I thought they were deserving to be a provincial champion. But the bar has been highly raised by the way that Shawnigan runs their program. For a multisport school like us that draws from our catchment area it's going to be difficult but we're going to keep on trying."
On the AA side Collingwood and Brentwood battled for the second year in a row with the game, again, decided by just one converted try.
In windy conditions the Cavaliers fell behind 14-0, fought back with a late try but couldn't complete the comeback.
"It was a knock-em-down slugfest and our guys stood in there the whole time," said Collingwood coach Dave Speirs. "It was the type of thing where everybody says, 'I know you don't want to hear this, but it was as really exciting game to watch.'"
That, however, provided little solace for the Collingwood players.
"You know how it is - nobody was happy," said Speirs. "It's kind of like you're saying, 'There's nothing I can say to make you feel better but silver is pretty darned good.' It's a situation where the kids are crushed and the coaches are not going to be able to cheer them up."
Speirs, however, had nothing but praise for his squad.
"The effort was outstanding. Brentwood's been beating AAA teams all year and playing some of the best teams. Obviously we didn't win the game but we felt we were as good a team. We battled hard the whole time."
. . .
North Shore teams were all over the board at the AA and AAA provincials. Rockridge followed Collingwood into the AA semifinals where they fell to Brentwood. The young Ravens bounced back, however, to beat Glenlyon Norfolk 29-21 to win bronze. Mulgrave ended up in seventh place with a strong 38-10 win over Southridge in their final game, while Windsor won the consolation side, defeating Ladysmith 22-3 in the ninth-place game.
Collingwood's Mitch McKenzie, Rockridge's Michael Harvey, Mulgrave's Eric Bleim and Windsor's Nick Hetherington were all named to the Commissioner's IX tournament all-star team while Collingwood was selected as the most sportsmanlike team.
In AAA, Carson led the way with silver while Handsworth finished seventh, closing their strong tournament with a 21-12 win over Lord Byng in their final game. West Vancouver finished in 10th place while Argyle ended up 14th.
Carson's Zach Smith, Handsworth's Neil Courtney, West Van's Jack Trembath and Argyle's Mckenzie Nicol made the Commissioner's IX while Handsworth earned the most sportsmanlike team award.
