The whole AAA rugby season on the North Shore seemed to build to Monday night’s Lower Mainland semifinal between Handsworth and Carson Graham, and the teams didn’t disappoint, smashing each other into a muddy mess at Mountainside Secondary.
The Carson Graham Eagles emerged out of the slop with a tough 21-8 win and a berth in the Lower Mainland final. Handsworth and Carson battled once before this season with Handsworth claiming a 24-19 victory, but on Monday it was the Eagles who flew into the lead, scoring 21 unanswered points in the first half before holding on for the win.
Max Goodman got the scoring started with an interception for a try, and Liam Clark pushed the Carson advantage with a pair of scores, one coming from a string of strong play from the Eagles and the other off of a set piece move from a scrum on the Handsworth goal line. Kilick Saxer converted all three tries, while the Eagles also got standout performances from Ben Cameron, whose positional kicking was key for Carson, and Rostam Mojgani.
The Royals battled back in the second half, getting on the board with a try from Davis Bonsall-Jevning, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Eagles.
“Great game, great day for it,” said Handsworth head coach Curry Hitchborn, revelling in the muddy mayhem. “Carson stuck it to us early on and we clawed back best we could but we just couldn’t get it past their strong defence. Full credit to Carson for the win. … I wish we could play games like that every week.”
St. Georges also booked a spot in the Lower Mainland final with a win over Argyle Monday. Carson and St. Georges will battle with the New Zealand Shield Lower Mainland title on the line Thursday starting at 4:15 p.m. at Stanley Park’s Brockton Oval. The Lower Mainland final will also present Carson Graham with their final opportunity to qualify for the four-team AAAA provincial championships, a super tournament for the winners of the Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, and Fraser Valley AAA rugby leagues as well as one wild-card team. Due to their current rankings, St. Georges likely has a berth locked up win or lose in the Lower Mainland final, but Carson would need to win the New Zealand Shield to make the AAAA championships.
Handsworth and Argyle will play in the Lower Mainland consolation final Thursday while West Vancouver will take on Kitsilano in the fifth-place match. The Highlanders topped their West Van rivals from Sentinel 29-7 Monday to keep their playoffs rolling on the consolation side.
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At the AA level the Collingwood Cavaliers, ranked No. 2 in the province, charged into the Lower Mainland final with a 24-0 semifinal win over Sutherland May 12. In the other semifinal Richmond’s R.A. McMath topped Rockridge 19-12.
Collingwood and McMath will battle for the New Zealand shield in the AA Lower Mainland final Thursday starting at 3:15 p.m. at Brockton Oval. Sutherland and Rockridge will play at Rockridge in the consolation final Thursday at 4 p.m. while Seycove will host Sir Charles Tupper in the fifth-place game, also Thursday at 4 p.m.
