After a week off, the First Division Cowichan Piggies returned to the rugby pitch last Saturday and nearly pulled off an upset of a powerful Westshore Premier Reserve side.
The Piggies had just a couple of spares on the sidelines, while Westshore came north with a full squad, including some Premier-level players who suited up for the reserves on a week off. Last year Cowichan beat Westshore to clinch the Times Cup, but Westshore was a little stronger this time around. Still, the Piggies kept it within a try, falling 38-31, and it could have been closer.
“We had it tied two times in the second half,” Cowichan head coach Andrew Wright said. “If we had another five minutes or so, I bet we could have tied it up for a third time.”
Beyond mere numbers, Westshore also had a notable size advantage over Cowichan, which led directly to their first try after the Piggies’ forwards couldn’t hold up against Westshore in a scrum.
“They absolutely destroyed us in there,” Wright noted. “They must have had a few hundred pounds on us.”
Westshore was up 12-0 within about 10 minutes of the opening kickoff. Sean Williams got the Piggies on the board, then Westshore scored again, and former Cowichan junior Daylon Hicks got his first try of the season, making in 19-12 for the visitors at the half.
Cowichan opened the second half with a try by Rob McDonnell that Owen Wood converted to even the score at 19-19. Westshore went up by seven once again before prop Arthur Gray, a new addition to Cowichan from the Mainland, pounded his way over the line to tie things up again. Westshore added two more tries to go up 38-26. Tanner Gresmak, another former Cowichan junior, scored the final try of the game, with Wood narrowly missing the convert.
“It’s good to have those guys coming back to play rugby,” Wood said of players like Gresmak and Hicks. “And fill the void of the players who left us since last year.”
The whole Cowichan side on Saturday leaned to the young side.
“Our oldest guy on the field this week was probably 29,” Wright said. “We’ve got some guys who just graduated high school a year or two ago. It’s great that there are guys sticking around the Valley instead of going off somewhere else for school or work. For some of these guys, it might have been their first or second senior game.”
Players remained positive after the game, recognizing what they had accomplished.
“In a long season like we have, you’re bound to have a few hiccups, a few bumps,” Wright said.
Cowichan got two bonus points in the Times Cup standings for scoring four tries and keeping the final score within seven, “which is pretty good for a loss,” Wright laughed.
The Piggies will be in action at home again this Saturday, hosting United with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff to accommodate the ferry schedule.