LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western scored 38 second half points, while giving up just 12 points over the final 40 minutes against the Pacific Pride, but it wasn't quite enough to overcome a 47-point halftime deficit, as the Spartans lost 59-38 Saturday at the Langley Rugby Club.
Trailing 47-0 at the break and 54-0 within the first two minutes of the second half, the Spartans put together a 38-point second half to close the gap to 21-points at the final whistle.
TWU outscored the Pride 38-5 over the final 38 minutes.
Lynden Duggan (Edinburgh, Scotland) and
Tim Zimmer (Prince George, B.C.) had two tries apiece for TWU, while
Favour Olaniyan (Gibsons, B.C.) and
Josiah Levale (Abbotsford, B.C.) dotted down once each.
Matthew Willemse (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) knocked through three conversions, while his brother
Wesley Willemse (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) hit his first conversion as a Spartan.
TWU Scoring
45' –
Lynden Duggan TRY,
Matthew Willemse CONVERSION (54-7)
52' –
Tim Zimmer TRY (54-12)
57' –
Tim Zimmer TRY (54-17)
68' –
Favour Olaniyan TRY,
Wesley Willemse CONVERSION (54-24)
73' –
Josiah Levale TRY,
Matthew Willemse CONVERSION (59-31)
80' –
Lynden Duggan TRY,
Matthew Willemse CONVERSION (59-38)
QUOTABLE
Andrew Evans, TWU Head Coach
"When you're down 47-0 at halftime and it looks they're going score a hundred points on you, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and just decide if you're going to do what we train to do, or not. Thankfully, the guys decided to come out in the second half and continue to play and play as a team. In the second half, we did what we train. In the first half, we didn't. It was really frustrating, but I think after that second half, there is more belief in the squad, so hopefully that's the type of rugby we bring against UVIC next week.
"In the first half – similar to last week against UBC – we just gave possession away. We had some good phases but then we'd just give the ball to the other team. And with teams like the Pride or UBC or, I imagine, UVIC – they're going to take advantage of our errors and score points. There are no easy games in the Coastal Cup. Maybe teams think that we're the easy game, but we can't be that.
"When you score 38 points in a half against any team, that's really good. We showed we can score points when we have the ball and, if we can do that against the Pride, we can do that against anybody. I'm really thankful for the way the guys responded."
NEXT UP
TWU will host Victoria Sept. 21 at the Langley Rugby Club in the Spartans third match of the Coastal Cup. Kick-off is at 2:30 p.m. Note that the game will not be streamed live. TWU and Victoria are both 0-2 to start the season, with the Vikes losing to the Pride 28-17 in the opening week and falling 44-33 against UBC Saturday. TWU lost 61-18 against UBC in the Spartans season-opener.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Pride came out of the gate running downhill at the Langley Rugby Club and were rewarded for their early-match efforts with a converted try in the third minute. From there, it was all Pride in the opening 40 minutes, with the visitors scoring seven tries and converting six of them.
A converted try to open the second half put the Pride up 54-0.
Three minutes later, Duggan sparked the Spartans with his first try of the contest and
Matthew Willemse converted to give TWU its first seven points of the afternoon.
After that, the momentum turned the Spartans way, with Zimmer scoring back-to-back tires, in the 52nd and 57th minutes, before Olaniyan got in on the try-scoring action in the 68th minute.
Wesley Willemse knocked his conversion attempt through following Olaniyan's try to produce a 54-24 scoreline.
After the Pride responded with an unconverted try, Levale dotted down under the posts, with
Matthew Willemse converting, before Duggan capped the day with an 80th-minute try.
Matthew Willemse kicked through the final points.
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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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