While the Fraser Valley rugby squads had their fair share of victories at the recent Provincial Regional Championships in Abbotsford, it was the Vancouver Island teams who emerged as the overall winners.
These youth competitions took place at Rotary Stadium on July 4 and 5, with teams from four B.C. regions going head-to-head in three different age groups.
In the U19 division, which was the oldest of the groups, both the boys and girls finals came down to the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island’s Crimson Tide teams.
The Crimson Tide girls struck first and held that lead for the remainder of the championship match, despite a strong push from the Fraser Valley girls in the second half, with the final score being 23-17 for the Crimson Tide.
On the boys side, it was a similar story but even more lopsided as the Vancouver Island squad bulldozed through their Fraser Valley counterparts and snagged the title with a 33-12 win.
The matchups in the U17 finals looked identical, as Crimson Tide and Fraser Valley squads once again went toe-to-toe for the title.
But unlike the U19 division, the U17 Fraser Valley boys were determined to scratch and claw their way to a victory, which they did in a dominant fashion, winning the title with a 27-0 shutout win.
The U17 Fraser Valley girls came within striking distance of the title, but weren’t quite able to surge ahead of the Crimson Tide, with the Vancouver Island squad winning 16-12.
The U15 division gave the Fraser Valley its second title win of the weekend, as the girls stamped out the Crimson Tide 17-5 in the finals.
The boys championship match had the Crimson Tide going up against the Vancouver Wave. From the very start, it was a dominant performance from the Wave, as they secured their title with a 51-5 win.
Once all the points had been added up across the three age groups, it was the Crimson Tide who were crowned the overall champions, with Fraser Valley finishing in second place.
The performances from the Provincial Regional Championships will be used to help choose the members of the BC Bears U17 and U19 teams, which are expected to be announced in late July.