In a battle of the only remaining undefeated teams, the Kelowna Crows were the ones left standing.
The Crows defeated Westshore RFC 40-22 Saturday in Victoria to claim their second straight B.C. Rugby Union Div. 3 title.
Jeff Lohse paced Kelowna with a hat-trick of tries against the Island champs, including the game-clincher with about 10 minutes remaining.
“(Jeff) picked up the ball about halfway, then beat about six guys on the way to scoring,” said Crows’ vice captain, Richard Brewer. “It was a great play.”
Jed Anderson and Rhys Evans also scored tries for KRFC, while Barack Pauls added five of six conversions in the rematch of last year’s finalists.
The Crows had some tough games in 2016, but never really came close to losing on the way to a perfect 10-0 overall record.
Prior to Saturday’s final, Kelowna hadn’t given up a try in the last four games.
“Our defence was so solid this year,” Brewer said. “Our finishing was really good, too. When we got an opportunity to finish off games, we were able to do that.”
After dominating the third division again this season, the Crows would like to return to the Div. 1 level in the near future. However, BCRU rules currently state that clubs must field both Div. 1 and Div. 2 teams and, at least for now, Brewer said Kelowna doesn’t have the bodies.
“We’re trying to petition to the league to allow us to bring in one team,” Brewer said. “We’ll see what comes of it.”
