VICTORIA – Trinity Western's men's rugby team had its best offensive showing of the Coastal Cup, scoring three tries, but still suffered an 11-point set back at the hands of the Victoria Vikes Saturday at Wallace Field.
Tamilore Awonusi (Dublin, Ireland) scored two tries for the Spartans, while
Matthew Willemse tallied one for TWU.
Keegan Marengo (Johannesburg, South Africa) knocked through two conversions and a penalty to round out the Spartans scoring.
With the win, the Vikes earned a berth in the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship this fall in Kingston, Ont. The top two university sides within the Coastal Cup, in games between the three teams, advance to the national championship. UBC earned the top spot with wins over both TWU and Victoria.
TWU star centre
Guiseppe du Toit (Maple Ridge, B.C.), who is capped for Canada, made his return to Victoria, after earning his degree while playing with the Vikes. Du Toit is taking his Masters in Leadership at TWU.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans took a 10-5 lead inside the first 15 minutes thanks to Awonusi's first try of the afternoon and a penalty from Marengo. The Vikes responded by scoring the next 28 points to take a 33-10 lead through 45 minutes. However, TWU put in a strong second half shift, scoring two tries and a penalty to claw all the way back to within eight points, 33-25, with six minutes to play. That was as close as TWU got, with Victoria sealing the win with a late penalty.
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Andrew Evans
"Today was a disappointing result for our men, as we had faith we could pull off the upset. In the first half, we struggled to find width on defence and had too many missed tackles. Fortunately Keegan,
Jan Lourens (Smoky Lake, Alta.) and Matt Willemse had improved composure and game management that helped us threaten UVIC and push them for 80 minutes. Tamilore had another strong performance for us, scoring two tries.
"Overall, I'm so impressed with the work these men have put in to compete against the best varsity programs in Canada in our very first season of play. We have very few players graduating this year, so we know our future is very bright."
ROSTER
1.
Favour Olaniyan, Gibsons, BC, Capilano Rugby Club
2.
Scott Bowers, New Westminster, BC, United Rugby Club
3.
Adam-Jay Fort, Red Deer, AB, Red Deer Titans
4.
Erik Niebuhr, Surrey, BC, Bayside Sharks
5.
Josh Halladay, White Rock, BC
6. Caleb Van Til, Tsawwassen, BC
7.
Nate Schroeder, West Kelowna, BC
8.
Caleb Gerth, Langley, BC, Surrey Beavers / Langley Rugby Club
9.
Jan Lourens, Smoky Lake, AB, Clansmen RFC
10.
Keegan Marengo, Johannesburg, South Africa, Xerox Golden Lions
11.
Lynden Duggan, Burnaby, BC, Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
12.
Guiseppe du Toit, Maple Ridge, BC, Toronto Arrows
13.
Sam Wegert, Langley, BC, UBC
14.
Tamilore Awonusi, Dublin, Ireland, Clontarf RFC
15.
Matthew Willemse, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Langley Rugby Club
16.
Seth Klassen, Surrey, BC, Bayside Sharks
17.
Kyle Morfitt, Langley, BC, Langley Rugby Club
18.
Grayson Hardie, Chilliwack, BC
19.
Tinashe Chirara, Harare, Zimbabwe, Old Georgians RFC
20. Genaro Gandolfo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Club San Andrés
21.
Fynn Murphy, White Rock, BC, Bayside Sharks
22.
Ethan Bernardin, Langley, BC
23.
Collin Lagat, Dallas, TX, Dallas Reds RFC
NEXT UP
The Spartans will now prepare to travel to play the league-leading Pacific Pride Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. (PT) at MacDonald Park in Victoria, B.C.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
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