WALLACE FIELD – The UVic Vikes men's rugby team moved five points clear of the Castaway Wanderers in the VIRU Elite Divison standings when they handed their Oak Bay rivals a 25-12 defeat on Saturday afternoon.

The bonus point victory and Barnard Cup berth were there for the taking but the Vikes were unable to produce a fourth try as the Wanderers fought back in the second half.

“We came out and played strong in the opening 15 minutes but we struggled in the second half,” Vikes' head coach #Doug Tate# said. “We really need to focus on playing a full 80 minutes of rugby.”

The Vikes went into half time with a 15-0 lead courtesy of tries by #Ryan Hamilton# and #Struan Robertson#. VIRU Elite Division lead scorer #Thomas Brody# successfully converted Hamilton's try before kicking a 30th minute penalty.

Vikes' flanker #Gareth Morrey-Jones# kept the reigning Barnard Cup champs on track when he barreled over for a try two mintues into the second half. Brody notched another five points kicking a conversion before tallying a 56th minute penalty.

The Castaways came dangerously close to claiming a bonus point when Feasitu Inoke and Doug Middleton each went over for tries. The final 20 minutes proved to be a defensive stalemate, however,  with the Vikes struggling to relieve the pressure in their own half.

The win marks the first time the Vikes have beaten the Castaways since their 17-0 victory on September 19, 2008.

The Vikes now head to MacDonald Park to face off against division leaders James Bay (7-0) on Saturday, November 21st . The Castaways will take on the Velox Valhallians and need to produce a four-try victory if they hope to cause a tie-breaker in the elite division standings for a Barnard Cup berth.