MACDONALD PARK – James Bay AA capped off an impressive 8-0 Fall Season campaign with a 27-23 victory over the UVic Vikes men's rugby team in Saturday's Barnard Cup final.
The battle of Vancouver Island's elite lived up to the hype as the lead changed hands six times before Bays' hooker Rob Downs scored a devastating 79th minute try to seal the victory.
The Vikes, who were battling for their 10th Barnard Cup in school history, were the first to score as Canadian international #Nathan Hirayama# broke the Bays' line before converting his own try.
Bays' winger Connor Braid scored 13 points to see the Vikes' trail by a single point at the half.
In the second half Braid missed an early penalty kick that landed just outside the uprights. Slow to respond to the missed kick, the Vikes were shocked as Bays' winger Dan Harlow chased the kick and dove on the ball unchallenged to put the home side up 18-15.
“We only have ourselves to blame,” Vike head coach #Doug Tate# said. “For a guy to score like that, I haven't seen that happen in 20 years. They got seven points from that which was enough to decide the game.”
The Vikes responded as #Robert DeJong# went over in the 61st minute. Not to be outdone for the second consecutive year, the Bays came roaring back and pounded the visitors towards their own try line.
With less than five minutes on the clock, their pressure caused a Vikes' miscue off the base of the scrum where Hirayama was brought down in his own try zone.
The ensuing five-metre scrum saw the Bays' grind out several phases before Downs broke through. Braid kicked the conversion to see James Bay capture their second Barnard Cup in three years.
“I thought we played well and we did enough to win but we just made that critical error that young teams sometimes make and that was the difference,” Tate added after the match.
Scoring Summary:
First Half: JB 13, UVic 12
Final: JB 27, UVic 23
JB Scoring:
Tries: Connor Braid, Dan Harlow, Rob Downs
Conversions: Braid (3)
Penalties: Braid (2)
UVic Vikes Scoring:
Tries: #Nathan Hirayama#, #Toni Wodzicki#, #Robert DeJong#
Conversions: #Nathan Hirayama# (1)
Penalties: #Nathan Hirayama# (2)
