VICTORIA, B.C. - The University of Victoria Vikes men's rugby team captured their second-straight Barnard Cup championship on the back of blistery conditions, strong offence and resilient defence on Saturday, Dec. 5 at Wallace Field, winning 24-5 over the Castaway Wanderers. The championship victory caps off an undefeated Barnard Cup campaign for the Vikes, finishing 10-0 in island competition.
 
Third-year Vikes fullback Fergus Hall notched three penalty kicks in the first half while third-year wing Crosby Stewart did the work on the ground, running in a trio of tries to help lift the Vikes to back-to-back championships. The Vikes defence was stellar all afternoon, allowing only one try late in the game after holding the Wanderers to 75 minutes of scoreless rugby.
 
"We really dug deep defensively today and it was our best defensive performance of the year," said Vikes head coach Doug Tate of his championship-winning team. "(Castaways) had a lot of the possession and they kept coming at us all game. They played smart, but I think we overturned enough balls to win us that game."
 
The weather acted as a third party for both teams, giving each team an advantage for a half with the winds at their back. Balls constantly changed direction in the air and allowed for the kicking game to play as an important factor.
 
"With a wind like that, we had a distinct advantage in the first half," said Tate on the unpredictable conditions. "We only put 14 points on the board and I thought that it wouldn't be enough. I knew we were going to have to get some points going the other way."
 
The Vikes took advantage of the wind at their backs in the first half. Almost two minutes into the game, Hall gave the Vikes the early lead with a penalty kick to open the scoring at 3-0. Hall added two more over the next 20 minutes to make it 9-0 for the Vikes, including a chip from just inside the centre line that made its way through the uprights thanks to some help from the wind.
 
The first major score of the game came for the Vikes when Stewart touched down in the corner of the end zone to open up a 14-0 lead for the Vikes heading into half-time.
 
As the Castaways pressed in the second half with the wind in their favour, the Vikes escaped down the sidelines with a nice run from third-year flanker Isaac Kaay. After pushing deep into Castaway territory, Stewart picked up a loose ball and ran in his second try of the game, making the score 19-0. 

Just after the restart, Stewart ran 25 yards down the sideline for his third try, making the idea of a comeback even more foreign for the Castaways down 24-0.
 
The Castaways added a try as time winded down through winger Anton Ngogo, but time would expire to give earn the Vikes back-to-back Barnard Cup championships.
 
The victory for the Vikes over the Castaways in the final is their second in consecutive years after winning 25-17 over the Castaways in 2014. Before that, the Vikes had lost five-straight finals to the James Bay Athletic Association.
 
The Vikes now break until the New Year before a busy month of January beginning with the start of the Canadian Direct Insurance (CDI) Premier League season. The competition runs from January to April in 2016, and top six teams from the Mainland Cup automatically advance while the top three teams from the Barnard Cup qualify.
 
"You'll see all new players and teams in the New Year," said Tate of competition in the BC Men's Premier League. "It's a new season and we'll play a lot of different teams with different skill sets. It's nice to get the win and give the guys a break for exams. Full credit to them for getting the job done."
 
Game Summary:
            1          2          F
UVIC:  14       10       24
CW:     0          5          5
 
Scoring Summary:
UVIC: C. Stewart (3T), F. Hall (3P)
CW: Anton Ngogo (1T)