NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. – Trinity Western's men's rugby team scored seven tries on its way to a 45-8 win over United Rugby Club Saturday afternoon at Hume Field.
United tallied an early penalty to open the scoring, but after that it was almost all TWU.
The Spartans got two tries from Isaiah de Peiza (Edmonton) and singles from Lynden Duggan (Burnaby, B.C.), Ethan Bernardin (Langley, B.C.), Favour Olaniyan (Gibsons, B.C.), and Zach Brimmage (St. Albert, Alta.). TWU also earned a penalty try.
Jan Lourens (Smoky Lake, Alta.) kicked four conversions on six attempts.
TWU is now 3-0 in Division 2, including wins over Axemen Rugby Club (34-17) and Scribes RFC (20-3).
AS IT HAPPENED
After United opened the scoring, de Peiza dotted down for his first of the afternoon to give the Spartans a lead they would hold the rest of the match.
Duggan scored a try, which was converted by Lourens, to extend TWU's lead to 12-3. After United scored its lone try of the game, to make it a four-point contest (12-8), the Spartans responded with a try from Bernardin.
From there, TWU continued to roll – ultimately scoring the game's final 33 points.
Olaniyan scored a try before TWU pushed its lead further with a penalty try. De Peiza's second try of the game along with Brimmage's tally, rounded out the scoring.
QUOTABLE
TWU Director of Rugby Andrew Evans
"United is a really scrappy and gritty rugby team. They're really difficult to play against, so it was good to see our young guys step up and get a win today and score seven tries against a really good and scrambling United defence. They made our lives miserable at the rucks and the breakdowns. Our team was a bit rattled at halftime, but we were able to gain our composure and we were able to get the ball wider in the second half, which led to more tries. It was great to see Zach score a try today. I thought James Aalhus (Langley, B.C.) played very well. We had Colin Lagat (Allen, Texas) play 10 for us today for the first time and he led the men out well to a solid victory. We're playing United again in a few weeks and we're not going to take anything for granted because they are a tough and aggressive team. That's probably a game that TWU students will want to come out and support when we're playing in Langley."
NOTABLE
• The Spartans were in California last weekend, playing the LA Giltinis Academy in a Sunday afternoon game, which saw the Giltinis Academy win 66-32.
• TWU has an overall record of 4-8 against all competition this season.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will travel to Ellensburg, Wash. for a game against No. 7-ranked Central Washington University Mar. 19.
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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