Cowichan Secondary School’s senior girls rugby team made its last preparations for the provincial championships by visiting Shawnigan Lake School on May 12. Although Shawnigan prevailed 35-7, Cowichan head coach Brad Skene saw some encouraging rugby from his team and felt the match was closer than the score might suggest.
“Shawnigan is a well-put-together team, which has outstanding athletes, and are well-coached,” Skene said. “They were well-organized. I thought that we did well in the first 10 to 15 minutes to control play and try everything we could to break down their defences. It was discouraging that we could not score early with the possession we had and then to have them counter and score. We made a few mistakes which cost us territory and points. I was impressed with the commitment and resilience of our team.”
Skene made several substitutions for the last 10 or 15 minutes of the second half to get some valuable experience for some young players as they prepare for the provincial championships this coming weekend.
“This cost us a few points but hopefully this will help us as our program continues to grow,” the coach said. “I was pleased with our effort and our decision making. We need to get back on the training pitch and correct some mistakes as we prepare for the B.C.s.”
The provincial tournament will take place in Abbotsford this coming weekend. Cowichan is ranked fifth in the AAA girls bracket, while Shawnigan goes in seeded third. The AA bracket has Brentwood ranked third.