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Bombers finish at an all time high at rugby provincials

After a long season the L.V. Rogers faced provincials with injuries and a tired team, but despite their struggles they finished in 12th.
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The Bombers took home the regional championship in May and finished at an all time high at the provincials.

The L.V. Rogers senior boys rugby team fought a hard season taking home the regional championship, but despite their efforts the Bombers finished in 12th place.

“At the end of our season, I think the boys were a little tired and really beat up,” said coach Michael Joyce. “We had a lot of injuries and I think that they had had their season. They had a great season. They were determined, they tried but they didn’t play their best.”

Early in the tournament the Bombers took on Surrey’s Southridge who were ranked 10th in the province.

“We didn’t play to our potential in the provincials,” said Joyce. “We played above our potential in some games this year. We played to our potential through most of the season, but during the provincials having some of our key guys out of the line-up really hurt us physically.”

Southridge defeated the Bombers 20-7.

On day two, LVR took on Esquimalt beating them 12-5, were defeated by North Vancouver’s Windsor 38-0 later in the tournament and played their last game against Kelowna Christian with a final score of 24-5 for Kelowna.

“I think that our second game was really a highlight,” said Joyce. “We played in a large stadium because we were ranked high we got to play in the Rotary Stadium. We won the game which was great. Other coaches that coach higher level teams and club teams were watching that game and although we didn’t play our best game we defended really well and did a lot of things right. We have players that are going to move on to play with other higher level teams because of those games.”

The Bombers have three players graduating this year but many of the players are in Grade 10 and 11 and will likely be back on the pitch next year.

“It was a big strong team last year of older kids,” said Joyce. “But what’s nice about next year is that I have most of my team returning next year to come hard and start early and do the right thing.”

Because many of the players were younger, they will hopefully get a chance to play the provincials again next year.

“It’s great for them to see it because they know what’s coming next year,” said Joyce. “They’ve seen the routine and they understand the level. All of those things will contribute to a better experience next year.”

The Bombers finished in 12th place, which is higher than they have ever finished at the provincials.