VICTORIA – The UVic Vikes men's rugby team couldn't keep James Bay off the scoreboard in the second half, en route to a 61-36 loss at Wallace Field on Sep. 16.
Ethan Hager led the Vikes with two tries;
Fergus Hall and
Liam Mahone each added a try of their own, while
Guiseppe du Toit was solid in the kicking game with one penalty goal and four conversions.
A close affair in the first half was broken wide open in the second frame with James Bay controlling much of the ball and outscoring UVic 40-12.
"Defensively we were poor throughout the whole game, we gave up too many gaps and let James Bay score very soft tries," said Vikes head coach
Doug Tate. "We were totally outplayed I felt, our midfield defence was non-existent."
Many of the Vikes highlights came in that first half, where the Vikes used their speed to work their way around the James Bay defence and towards the try line.
Hager scored both of his tries on great individual efforts. Twice the first-year Vike picked up a loose ball and sprinted over 60 metres for the score.
The Vikes defence was in bend but don't break mode for much of the frame, stopping James Bay just short of the try line, time and time again.
A try from
Fergus Hall right on the cusp of halftime gave the Vikes the 24-21 lead at the break but from then out it was all James Bay.
"We were fortunate to be in the lead at halftime. Right from the beginning, we were making too many unforced errors," said Tate. "We have to work together as a unit, there are some new guys in there so that will take awhile."
Next up for the Vikes is a game against the UBC T-Birds at Wallace Field on Sep. 23, and Tate knows that his team must improve when they play their rivals from the Lower Mainland.
"If we play like that again then it will be a similar result."
With the newly revived Canadian University Championships taking place in Guelph, ON in November the game against UBC takes on some added importance as it will count as both a BC Premier League game as well as a qualifier for the championship tournament.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st 2nd F
UVIC: 24 12 36
JB: 21 40 61
SCORERS
Ethan Hager (2T),
Fergus Hall (1T),
Liam Mahone (1T),
Guiseppe du Toit (1P, 4C)
