Local Community Advertising
A young Rutland Voodoos team played beyond its years and experience to claim a silver medal at the BC Rugby high school 7s tournament in Vancouver on the weekend.
With only four Grade 12s on the roster of 11, the Voodoos won three of four games in Tier 2 pool play before dropping a 33-7 decision to R.E. Mountain Eagles of Langley in the title match.
Despite not having seen any of the Lower Mainland teams and being unsure what to expect, the Voodoos were confident of their ability as they went up against the Prince of Wales Walesmen of Vancouver, the Earl Marriott Mariners of Surrey, G.W. Graham Grizzlies of Chilliwack and the Guilford Park Sabres of Surrey in preliminary pool play.
A case of nerves showed in their opener as the Voodoos fell behind early. Although they settled down and made a game of it in the second half, Rutland came out on the short end of a 19-17 decision.
The second game saw the Voodoos upset a provincially-ranked (15s) G.W. Graham team 12-10, while they ended the first day of play by defeating Guilford Park 17-12, led by the speed of Grade 9 Isaac Youngs.
With first place in the pool and a berth in the final on the line, the disciplined Voodoos overcame the overly physical play of Prince of Wales to record a 22-7 victory.
In the final, “the boys played hard, but R.E.was just too good on the day,” said head coach Patrick Allardyce. “But the silver medal was a fantastic accomplishment for a young team like ours.”
Local Community Advertising