For the first time in the history of the BC Secondary Schools Provincial Championships, four Richmond rugby teams made the tournament.
It was a well-earned reward for a great season of rugby in the city, and the players did not disappoint, showcasing a high level of talent and determination at the event in Abbotsford earlier this month.
The Richmond schools were lead by South Fraser AA runners-up McMath, who were placed in the competitive Tier-1 draw.
After a tough opening round loss to top-ranked Collingwood of North Vancouver, the Wildcats regrouped to beat Brentwood College of Mill Bay by a single point, 22-21.
Playing for 5th in the province, the team came up just short against the well-drilled St. Michaels University School of Victoria.
The team, coached by Craig Milholm, with assistance from his father Dave, was led on the field by the steady play of fly half Damien Biddlecombe as well as the strong running of Jackson Bradley. Holt McFie had a standout tournament, and Captain Malcolm Dennill was selected to the tournament all-star team.
In the Tier 2 AA tournament, Richmond had three schools involved, McNair, Cambie and McRoberts competing for the provincial title.
The Marlins, led by captain Maeson Westerlund and his brother Dallin, were able to knock off Byrne Creek of Burnaby in the first round, but were unlucky to lose to DW Poppy of Langley in their semi-final game, despite the evasive running of centre David Norena and the calm, collected work of halfback combination of Billy Preibisch and Jeremy Yuen.
Prop Carson Leung and flanker Elijah Morrison also had stand-out performances in Abbotsford, noted McNair coaches Dave Wallace, Lucky Joncas and Chris Banks.
Cambie meanwhile, snuck by Sutherland of North Vancouver before falling to Gleneagle of Coquitlam in their semi-final match.
The toughness and downhill running style of Markus Cudo and captain Balpreet Dosanjh, combined with the ferocious tackling of Daniel Wojewodzic put Cambie into the bronze medal game against East-side rivals McNair on the final day of the tournament.
Hooker Raph Dimo was all over the field for the Crusaders in the bronze medal game, which went to extra time and was won by a last second kick at goal by scrum half Jacob Choy delighting coach Matt Wallace but breaking the Marlins’ hearts.
The two teams had faced each other several times throughout the season, with each game coming down to the wire, and while only one team could come away with the victory, both teams deserved to win.
The final area-entrant was McRoberts, qualifying for their first provincial tournament since 2017.
The Strikers snatched the final spot in a last-chance qualification game to secure the 8th and final seed in the AA Tier-2 draw.
While not content to just make up the numbers at the tournament, the boys suffered competitive defeats to Gleneagle, Sutherland and Byrne Creek, although their last two games were decided on the final play of the game.
Captain Braeden Hodgins and prop Jon Newman were the back-bone of the team throughout the season, and when Newman was felled by an injury in the second game, big second row Vlad Roldugin stepped up in his place to become the focal point of the team’s offence.
McRoberts coach Al Smith singled out steady and effective flanker Spencer Brodie and speedy, defensive winger Andrew Dai as difference makers while flyhalf Rajan Mann showed flashes of brilliance with his kicking boot. Brothers Michael and Kam Mohammed received high praise from coach Nini Weng for their tenacity and hard running style as well.
Besides Dennill, Dosanjh (Cambie), Brodie (McRoberts) and Maeson Westerlund were all selected to the tournament all-star team.
