LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's
Scott Bowers (New Westminster, B.C.) scored a try and
Keegan Marengo (Johannesburg, South Africa) slotted a penalty, but it wasn't quite enough on a rainy Saturday, as the Spartans lost 18-8 against the visiting Vancouver Island Crimson Tide at Willoughby Community Park.
The loss sees the Spartans end their Coastal Cup campaign at 0-6. However, the 10-point setback showed a marked improvement from the TWU side, as it the gap represented the Spartans closest result of the season.
AS IT HAPPENED
As has happened in three previous games, the Spartans took an early, with Marengo knocking through a penalty to make it 3-0 for TWU.
From there, the Tide pushed back, ultimately scoring 18 consecutive points to give the visitors a 15-point edge midway through the second half on the strength of two tries and a conversion.
However, with a strong TWU scrum helping lead the way, the Spartans swung back late in the second half. TWU hooker Bowers took a quick pass from
Nate Schroeder (West Kelowna, B.C.) off a lineout and drove over the line for his first try of the Coastal Cup.
After that, TWU continued to press, but the Crimson Tide held them off to take the win and improve to 2-3 on the year.
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Andrew Evans
"Today is disappointing. We've improved so much every game and we felt we could win today and that wasn't the result. We played some good rugby in the first few minutes, but penalties and some knock-ons allowed the Tide to get into our corner. We weren't clinical on defending their maul and they got a couple tries that way. I thought we were sticking to our game plan more, but little mistakes or veering slightly off the game plan allowed the Tide to get opportunities in our half.
"Our scrum has improved massively and I felt we could have had more scrum penalties but it wasn't officiated that way. In the backs, I felt we had a better counter-attack but the experience of the Tide prevailed. Unfortunately, today is another day to learn and wait for a win.
"For these TWU men, whose average age is 20.16 years, to compete with historic teams like the Tide is phenomenal. These men have a lot of faith. They came to a program that was just starting and now they're competing with some of the best teams in North America. Today is not the result we wanted, but we have Faith that God has big plans for Spartan rugby."
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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