You could not ask for a better day for our last league game. The sun was shining, the field was dry and the temperature just hovered around 18 degrees Celsius. Our fixture rep, Dave Irving, convinced the Victoria Ebb Tide to cross the Georgia Strait to make up for a game that was postponed from early March. They showed up with twenty-two players, this included a few red shorts and two yellow shorts. We countered with 26 of our own. (5 red shorts) The game kicked off at noon since the Tide had to catch the five o’clock ferry. The Twilighter Nation (15 fans) was out in full force and was a welcomed sight.
We received the kick off under ideal conditions but unfortunately, they pooch kicked the ball and were able to recover it. So instead of going on the offensive immediately, we had to dig deep and play defense. The Tide is a very experienced team with solid backs and big fit forwards. Although they put several phases together, we were able to hold them off. Our big forwards finally seized control. Moose started things off by rambling 30 m down the field. If not for their yellow shorts tagging him, Moose might have had the opportunity to “shoot the boot.” Not to be outdone, Ted had one of his patented big man runs by going for another 25 m. We eventually were awarded a penalty which we used to set up a line-out. This play resulted in the first try of the game. Dustin zig zagged his way into the endzone to put us up by one. The Tide came close to scoring by kicking to touch at our 20 m line, but our defence played as a solid unit and was able to hold them off the scoresheet. The first quarter ended with the Twits leading 1-0.
The second quarter started with the Twits putting several phases together. Cory T. off loaded the ball to Rob C. for significant metres and this was followed by Evan and Irish pounding their defensive line. Jeke finally scored from midfield by running out of heavy traffic. The score now was Twits 2 and Tide 0. Being the experienced team they are, the Tide came back with a vengeance. Their speedy number nine broke free from a maul at mid field and sprinted 50 m toward our touchline. He was sure to score, but Jeke, (doing his best D.K. Metcalfe impersonation) hauled him down at the 10 m line and saved the try. Coach Peewee was so excited he shouted out some very choice words. (Which we cannot print) Minutes later Jeke and Luke worked the ball in perfect harmony and set up Deryck for his first try and the opportunity to shoot the boot. Score at the half: Twits 3 and Tide 0.
It was a rough start for the Tide at the beginning of the second half. Because of a bad pass, the ball was dropped and Luke pounced on it like a terrier chasing down a rat. This allowed Luke to score his first try of the match. The score now was 4-0 for the Twits. Luke put another notch in his belt when he received a long bouncing pass from Lance and raced into the endzone. We were not quite done yet. Some nifty running by Evan, Lolly and Lance got the ball into Irish’s hands. He then rumbled, stumbled, and bumbled (Chris Berman quote) into the endzone. Not before bowling over the last defender. This was the Twit’s 6th try.
The 4th quarter saw new additions to the Twit IR list. Moose was out since the first half and Handball joined him in the 4th quarter with bruised ribs. The most serious injury occurred when Jamie L tried to tackle a Tide player, and took Gord’s knee with his face. We do not think the Gord’s knee will need stitches. Fortunately, Jordyn our trainer, was able to attend to Jamie’s injury. We hate to think there will be any permanent scars to his rugged good looks. When play continued, strong running by Dustin, Dave and Irish moved the ball down the field. Dustin finally crossed the goal line from 15 m out to put us up by 7. One would have to give the Tide credit; they never gave up. When our fullback erroneously kicked the ball out of our endzone, that gave them a 5 m scrum, which they used to score a well deserved try. The final score: Twits: 7 Tide: 1
It was a great way to end the season and it was even better when Paul Cumming showed he still could play even after a five-year absence. Coach Peewee was not quite speechless, but he was pleased with the overall performance. Irish was the Twits’ MOM and Ray was the Tide’s choice for MOM. One further note, Ray got his twin brother Chuck to stand in for him in the boat race. Even though Chuck had already finished a pitcher by himself, he did us proud and finished a close second. We were then treated royally to a traditional banger and mash repast straight from the coronation in England. Congratulations to both teams. It was a great day for rugby.