Brentwood Topples Vanier

25 April 2013Lauren A, Allard '13

On Tuesday, April 16, the Girls Rugby team took on AAA Vanier and heartily fought for a 29-10 win! The sun did not stop shining which allowed for better playing conditions than the previous weekend. This was much appreciated by the players.

We had trouble in the first half and did not give it our all which caused the Vanier team to keep possession for many runs. We did not execute together well enough in the first half, which resulted in the first try going to Vanier due to uncommitted tackles and us not coming up quickly enough.

After that disappointing try, the Brentwood girls realized they needed to pick it up and execute the game plan right at the breakdown. Mikayla J struck the blindside with great power gaining us an advance on their end. The second try of the game was scored by Nambi M who successfully turned a Vanier penalty into a Brentwood try. Both teams then possessed the ball equally and continued to execute their game plans.

In the second half, Brentwood fiercely fought harder resulting in four more Brentwood trys and one for Vanier. Our fitness and agility was evident in the second half as we never quit our attack or slacked off in defence for the rest of the game. The second half also proved the Brentwood forwards’ ability to ruck effectively and aggressively which was a major asset to more possession of the ball and greater chances to score.

Successful trailer balls were run especially well this half and allowed Jenn L, Nambi M, and Christa B to get power and drive through the Vanier forwards. Offloading accuracy improved which allowed us to keep the ball alive and give many girls a chance to go for a run and gain ground. Shannyn C and the forward pack attacked the middle channel of the field, which resulted in a quickly rucked ball which Mack S picked up instinctively when Shannyn C was caught up in the ruck. Mack C then passed it swiftly to the supporting backs and looped to score in the corner. This try got the team even more excited and determined to leave all their energy on the field and come out on top.

Vanier, unfortunately, took advantage of our distracted excitement as we weren’t all ready for the next kick-off by Vanier which was knocked on close to the Brentwood goal line. The Vanier #8 drove through the defense and scored to tie the game again at 10-10. This let down by the Brentwood team only made us want the win more and we responded by running harder at the opposition and executing well.

The game plan was then effectively run resulting in another Brentwood try by Lauren A after many successful passes to the outside. The final fifteen minutes were especially thrilling as Shannyn C scored a brilliant try under the posts with the assistance of Hannah C who committed her defender and quickly popped the ball to Shannyn C. Nambi M then earned her second try of the game off a quick penalty.

The final whistle was blown and the Brentwood girls cheered heartily for their hard-earned win over what Mr. Burrows described as a “solid AAA team.” He added, “As coaches we would have liked our play to show more consistency, especially at the outset, but the team responded when needed which was encouraging.” This was a great physical game and gave Brentwood a chance to prove their ability against a AAA team which was a great opportunity to practice our skills and execution for the CAIS rugby tournament hosted at Shawnigan the weekend of April 19th-21st.

Lauren A, Allard ‘13

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