THE North Shore is well-shielded once more after the Collingwood and Carson Graham senior boys rugby teams ran away with the AA and AAA Lower Mainland titles - awarded with the tradition-laden New Zealand Shield trophies - in a double header Thursday at Stanley Park's Brockton Oval.
In the opening match Collingwood topped their West Van rivals from Rockridge 19-10 to win their second consecutive Lower Mainland AA banner. The win was actually a two-for-one special as a pair of prestigious shields were up for grabs. Along with the storied New Zealand Shield, the teams were playing for the Hatch Shield, awarded annually to the winner of the first meeting of the season between the two powerhouse AA programs. Normally the Hatch Shield is given out after a regular season meeting but a scheduling quirk this year meant that Rockridge and Collingwood did not meet in an official league game - they played one scrimmagestyle exhibition match early in the season - until Thursday's final.
It didn't take long, however, for the old rivals to get reacquainted.
"It was kind of a typical Collingwood/ Rockridge game - no quarter given," said Collingwood head coach David Speirs. "They all know each other and they all like each other but on the rugby field it's a good battle."
Collingwood pressed early but it was Rockridge that got on the board first, scoring a try against the run of play to go up 5-0. It didn't take Collingwood long to respond in the form of a scintillating run from Taylor Milliken.
"Taylor Milliken's try was about an 80-yard piece of magic," said Speirs. "He's just electric. He just weaved his way through. He's kind of one of these kids who just has a natural step with great speed. They'd gone up 5-0 and literally a couple of minutes later we were up 75."
Collingwood kept up the attack for the rest of the half with forwards Mitch McKenzie and Berkley O'Sullivan muscling in for tries to make it 19-5.
"Our forwards were really playing well," said Speirs. "We just kept pounding it, moving it wide and bringing it back to the forwards."
In the second half Collingwood continued to press but Rockridge defended well and put the only points on the board, scoring their second try to make it 19-10 and set up an exciting finish. Collingwood held, however, sealing the victory and earning the two shields.
Both teams will now set their sights on the provincial championships running May 28-June 4 in Abbotsford. Collingwood will go in ranked No. 1 in the province with Mill Bay's Brentwood College No.
2 and Rockridge No. 3, setting up the possibility of the two West Van schools meeting again in the provincial final.
The Cavaliers will have a good shot if they can continue to play like they did in the Lower Mainland final, said Speirs.
"It was by far our best game of the year," he said. "We've played pretty well at times (this season) and at times not so good. If they can play like they played today, we're going to be fine.
Carson Graham took care of business in the second Lower Mainland final Thursday, defeating longtime rivals St. George's 29-13 to win their third consecutive AAA Shield.
Nathan Yanagiya and Andrew Milne each scored tries for the Eagles in a tight first half that ended with Carson up 12-10.
The second half saw Carson fall behind 13-12 after St. George's knocked in a penalty kick but it was all Carson the rest of the way with captain Zach Smith getting the scoring started with a punishing try. Minutes later the Eagles were back on the board with Yanagiya getting his second try of the day following a bruising run from Cody Pitman, a strong and speedy runner who recently returned to action after a lengthy recovery from an Achilles tear suffered while playing football for the Eagles last fall.
Daniel Servillon rounded out the scoring, racing down the right wing to touch down the final try of the game. Smith added the convert, his second of the day, to complete Carson's high-scoring second half.
"We talked about making some adjustments at half time," said Carson head coach Tom Larisch. "We knew what they were going to do but we weren't actually defending it properly. And then we actually got some guys to cover the kicks and fanned out better on defence."
The moves, combined with Carson's fitness and depth, paid off in their lategame push.
"We finally wore them down and opened it back up in the last 20 minutes of the game," said Larisch. "Once we get the ball we have enough game breakers that we're hard to contain the whole game."
The win continued an incredible run for the Eagles, giving them their 17th New Zealand Shield win in the last 23 years. In that time frame only two other clubs have won it: St. George's four times and Lord Byng twice.
The Eagles will go into the AAA provincial championships, held concurrently with the AA tournament, ranked No. 3 in the province behind Shawnigan Lake and Oak Bay from Vancouver Island. St. George's is ranked fourth.
"We haven't played our best rugby yet so hopefully we're peaking at the right time," said Larisch, giving credit to cocoach Rameses Langston for whipping the team into shape. "I think we're definitely a top-4 team in the province and I think we can definitely get into that final and once you get in the final you never know. Shawnigan is a clear No. 1 -they have an unparalleled program the last few years - but we just need a chance and if we get into that game you never know what can happen."
