THE last time the powerhouse senior AA rugby teams from Rockridge and Collingwood met it was a messy affair played during the height of the West Coast's annual springtime mud up.
"It was in the midst of the monsoon season," said Collingwood head coach David Speirs, whose Cavaliers won the game 13-10, handing Rockridge their only loss of the regular season. The Ravens and Cavs will meet again under, hopefully, much nicer conditions Thursday at Stanley Park's Brockton Oval with the New Zealand Shield, awarded annually to the Lower Mainland champion, on the line. Coach Speirs is expecting a very different type of game this time around.
"It was a very messy game - it was rainy, the ball was really slippery. I don't think you could tell much about Rockridge from that game because neither team was running the ball very well. I don't think they could tell much about us either. We both know that there's a lot of people who like to tackle and hit hard and ruck hard, but neither team would be saying, 'Wow, that was a fantastic game of open rugby' (after) that first one."
Each team has talent and history on their side. Rockridge, aside from their one hiccup against Collingwood, has been destroying everyone in their path this season on the way to finishing first in the Lower Mainland league and earning a berth in the final. The Ravens haven't won a provincial title since 2010 - that's considered a drought for Rockridge - but this year they appear to be one of the teams to beat.
"Having played them over and over again, I don't think there's ever been a weak Rockridge team since they came into this level of rugby," said Speirs with a laugh. "With the scores they've put up we know that they've got a pretty darn good backline. They've got a lot of talent out wide, they've got really good halfbacks. They pretty much have a very balanced team, forwards and backs."
This year's New Zealand Shield final will come down to who controls the ball while making the fewest mistakes, said Speirs.
"In a game like this where the two teams should be really even it'll come down to who can keep the ball in hand the most. If we have the ball then we're a very good team. If we're playing defence all the time, if Rockridge has the ball and they can maintain it, it'll be a difficult day for us."
Collingwood, like Rockridge, had just one defeat during the regular season, a 15-12 loss to Hugh McRoberts in Richmond
in April. The Cavaliers got their shot at revenge last Friday when they faced McRoberts again in the Lower Mainland semifinals. Things didn't go well early, however, as the Cavs gave up a try less than a minute into the game.
"45 seconds might be generous," said Speirs. "It might have been 30 seconds that we were down 7-0. Basically they had a kid run through three tackles and off they went."
That, however, was the end of the scoring for McRoberts as Collingwood stiffened up their defence while letting loose their attackers en route to a 38-7 win. The poor start led to a little hand wringing but Speirs said the Collingwood side remained upbeat.
"I was pretty confident that if we followed our game plan we would beat them," he said. "This time we were ready to adjust and move them around a bit. . . . I thought we played quite well as a team, a good combination of forward power and getting the ball out wide to our strike-force backs. We have a lot of speed out wide."
The Cavaliers are led by the hard-running Grade 12 trio of No. 8 Marshall Fuller, winger Connor McRae and fullback Taylor Milliken.
"If those guys are all going then we have a chance against pretty much anybody," said Speirs, adding that his team also has a bunch of guys who are good at the dirty work. "We've got a lot of good players. Rugby is such an unsung sport. The guys who are at the bottom of the rucks winning the ball allow the other guys to get it in hand and go for runs. We feel we've got a lot of players who give you the hard yards."
The Cavaliers will need to get the hard yards to beat Rockridge who racked up 337 points during the regular season while allowing only 31. Collingwood, meanwhile, scored 204 while giving up 60. On Thursday, however, past results both muddy and clean won't mean a thing as these two storied programs, winners of nine of the past 12 provincial AA championships, do battle once more.
. . . Game time for Rockridge vs. Collingwood is 4 p.m. Thursday at Stanley Park's Brockton Oval. The AA final will be followed by the AAA Lower Mainland Championship game pitting St. George's against West Vancouver secondary, also at Brockton Oval.
