Players fight the rain, cold
Nasty weather tested the mettle of Cowichan Rugby Club players Saturday.
Cowichan women overcame the strain of the rain to drain Kamloops 19-7 in a Big Kahunas Div. 1 B.C. Women’s rugby game at the Herd Road Grounds.
Cassie Stevens scored two tries, both converted by Caity Genereaux. Carolyn Gudmundseth, who stepped up to play fly half, scored the other try.
“It was great to have not only a full squad, but we had two spares,’’ noted Cowichan’s Sherry Spence.
Kara Galbraith was outstanding at fullback in the victory. She made some great kicks and tackles.
Nenagh McCulloch returned to the forwards and made some nice runs while also stealing important defensive ball.
The Div. 1 Cowichan men were on the road at Bayside where they ran across a powerful opponent and trying conditions.
“They’re pretty big, they’re pretty good and it was absolutely freezing,’’ said Cowichan coach Ian Murray.
Cowichan had a nice turnout of 20 guys for a road game, but were simply overmatched.
“They were just a lot better,’’ said Murray matter-of-factly.
Cowichan didn’t fare too bad in the first half. “The first scrum we pushed them all over the place,’’ said Murray.
There was no scoring for nearly half an hour when Bayside broke loose for a couple of quick tries.
Just before halftime, Cowichan closed to within 10-5 when Peter Budina kicked ahead to Owen Wood, who also kicked forward once and then pounced on the ball for the try.
“The second half didn’t go too well,’’ said Murray. “They used their park well. They kicked well in the second half to the corner and hemmed us in.’’
Cowichan has a bye this week.
The Div. 3 men had better conditions Sunday for their game against the rival Comox Kickers.
After being whitewashed by the Kickers earlier in the season, Cowichan came out to prove a point and did exactly that in a 28-17 win.
“The combination of power in the forwards and pace in the backs had a significant effect on the game,’’ noted Cowichan manager Tom Fogarty.
Comox broke the deadlock with a breakaway try. But the Cowichan forwards put in the hard work that eventually paid off with a try by Jarrod Arnasson, converted by Kyle Hall, after several ruthless phases of possession.
The backs then exerted pressure after some strong tackles on defence. Tyson Stoochnoff scored two further tries and two conversions, with Adam Nicholas adding a try and Hall a conversion.
“There was some outstanding rugby displayed by both teams on the day,’’ raved Fogarty. “It is great to be getting more consistency in terms of numbers and we are looking to continue to improve our performances up until playoffs in May.’’
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