VICTORIA, B.C. - The University of Victoria men's rugby team takes on the James Bay AA on Sept. 13 at MacDonald Park for their second match of the Barnard Cup series. The Vikes look to capitalize on their winning momentum, having beat the Velox Valhallians 78-10 in their season opener.
 
The Vikes key players include Fergus Hall, who collected 26 points against Velox, and Guiseppe du Toit who scored within the first minute of play in the Velox match and continued to push offensively, adding a second try to his game tally.
 
Fourth year Dustin Dobravsky makes his 2014/15 season debut, sidelined after a knee injury last year. Casey Reed and Sawyer Herron also return to the Vikes uniform. Both have been playing for their respective province's teams, Reed for the Alberta Wolf Pack and Herron for Ontario Blues.
 
"James Bay has always been our rival," said Vikes head coach Doug Tate. "It's going to be a serious match with a lot of physical play. With our nice weather, we'll see plenty of ball movement from both teams."
 
James Bay brings an experienced roster to the field, despite missing key players Noah Barker, Jordan Wilson-Ross and Nick Blevins, who are all away for the Canadian Rugby Championship.
 
"Up front with the forwards we should be pretty solid," said James Bay head coach Peter Rushton. "Our team is centred around our forward play and our set piece play. That's a big part of what we do and I'd like to think we play a fairly dynamic, well-rounded style of rugby, and that the ball moves well from side to side. The test for us will be in the backfield, as we look for some structure going on there, but it should be a good contest."
 
James Bay has won the provincial championship the last two years.
 
"James Bay is one of the more physical teams we'll face. They come with a higher skill level, and while they might not have all their players yet, the way they play is very consistent," said Tate.
 
 The Vikes faceoff with James Bay AA on Sept. 13 at 2:45 p.m. at MacDonald Park.
 
 The team is back at home on Sept. 20 at 2:45 p.m. against the Castaway Wanderers, part of the Barnard Cup series.