Rowers 2nds Hold On to Beat Kamloops at Home

The VRC 2nd division remain undefeated after beating Kamloops 22-18 at Brockton Oval this afternoon.
A fairly loose group of Rowers who had practised well together throughout the week and found a rhythm came out strong against Kamloops, but fell victim to their own mistakes early in the first half, ceding ground to multiple consecutive penalties in their own end. The strong visiting pack attacked very well off of set pieces, and were able to get on the board first by turning a lineout at the 5 into a driving maul, and pushing it in to make it count.
The 2nds answered with a perfectly executed penalty kick by Nick “Wacka Flocka” Wackwitz, in his first game back from injury. Wackwitz kicked well on the day, but his totals are unknown because of an ongoing lack of record keeping.

Wet field conditions made for a game suited to short, hard attacks. Both teams defences played solidly, frustrating the opponent’s back threes by limiting open-field gains off of counters in the first half. Rowers Captain and fullback “Disco” Stu Holland, no stranger to this report or to the scoring column, was finally able to cross the paint in the corner for the Rowers first try at about 20′ of the first half.
The Kamloops pack continued to use perfect execution in the set pieces, and superior discipline at the breakdown to build yards against the hosts, but the Rowers didn’t rattle. It was close at the half by virtue of several missed penalty by the visiting kicker, a veteran Kamloops Raiders forward, lining up today at loose head prop.
The Rowers poor discipline at the breakdown in the first half had nothing to do with a lack of effort. Eighth man Quinn Cowie led with great line speed and several impressive cover tackles.

After a halftime talk centring mostly on penalties, the Rowers were able to cut down on their mistakes and make yards with the ball in hand. Speedy veteran winger Kevin Gurniak, making his own return after healing a broken arm, was finally able to make yards outside and find paydirt to put the Rowers on top.

Penalites continued to be a problem as the Rowing Club defended a 22-11 lead in the 2nd half, as the pack continued to struggle with Kamloops’ driving maul off of the lineout. The team took a yellow card late in the half for pulling down a Kamloops maul, and allowed the visitors back in it in the phases that followed after the penalty. A converted Kamloops try made it 22-18.
But there was no quit in the VRC Super 2s . Strong performances by substitutes contributed to a final 20 minutes in which they were able to find both discipline and ball control to hold on for the win.
The home win extends the VRC 2nd div’s undefeated record to 13-0, and keeps them at the top of the table in the BC Rugby Union’s 2nd division.
The VRC Rugby Men’s First Division fixture against Langley this week was cancelled due to poor field conditions as a result of snow, as was the VRC Womens’ fixture against Ridge Meadows. Tentatively, the games are to be made up on Easter weekend.
All photos courtesy Sideline Reporter “BD” Dan Francis, on loan from the VRC First Division following the cancellation of the Langley game.