JBAA ENDS SEASON 8-0, VIKES DROP TO 4-2-2

By Andrew Smith

A six-try effort by James Bay AA was too much for an injury riddled UVic Vikes men’s rugby team on Saturday as the reigning Barnard Cup champs were downed 30-17 in the VIRU Elite Divison season finale.

In a preview of the 2009 Barnard Cup match, seven costly injuries left the Vikes undermanned against a relentless Bays side.

The Vikes came out strong taking an early 7-0 lead through a Nick Lubbe try and convert by division leading scorer Thomas Brody.

Rob Downs touched down for the Bays five minutes later but the Vikes increased their lead with a try by blindside winger Keenan Horton for a 12-5 score line.

Not to be outdone on their home pitch, the undefeated Bays answered with a five-try scoring spree to put the match out of reach. Second-year lock Brett Beukeboom would pull back a late try for the Vikes but the visitors failed to close a 13-point deficit as the clock wore out.

“We started well and did what we had to do to compete with them. Then we

had a series of injuries with seven guys coming off the field, that was the difference,” Vikes’ head coach Doug Tate said. “It came down to running out of guys to play in certain positions and that’s about the strongest James Bay team I’ve seen in a while.”

The bonus point victory sees James Bay finish the fall ’09 season undefeated with a perfect 8-0 record while the Vikes drop to 4-2-2.

The Vikes will have two weeks to regroup before returning to MacDonald Park in search of their 10th Barnard Cup title. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, December 5th.