Belmont’s Jena Janmohamed heads upfield at Vic High during a pool round match against eventual champion Oak Bay at the B.C. high school girls sevens championships last week. In support are Madison Bullen, right, and Ashanti Whyte, behind. Oak Bay won this game 38-12, but Belmont essentially tied the second half.

Belmont’s Jena Janmohamed heads upfield at Vic High during a pool round match against eventual champion Oak Bay at the B.C. high school girls sevens championships last week. In support are Madison Bullen, right, and Ashanti Whyte, behind. Oak Bay won this game 38-12, but Belmont essentially tied the second half.

Good showing at B.C. high school girls sevens for Belmont

Provincial rugby tournament sees Grade 9s gain good experience

Fielding a team far younger than many of those entered in last weekend’s B.C. high school girls sevens rugby championship, the team from Belmont showed positive signs for the future of girls rugby at the school.

Belmont placed 10th with a loss in the Bowl final to Hugh McRoberts of Richmond, after beating Elgin Park in the semifinals.

“The girls had the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the province and held their own,” said coach Charlotte Haley.

“I also received a lot of positive feedback from fans in the crowd about how well they played. This is especially positive since we are mostly a Grade 9 team and we were missing one of our best players.”

Belmont finished third in preliminary round play. Theirs was arguably the pool of death, with finalists Oak Bay and Lake City from Williams Lake in the mix.

The Bulldogs overwhelmed Nechako Valley from Vanderhoof 55-0 in one of their matches.

Oak Bay won the crown Saturday at Westhills Stadium with a 38-0 decision over Lake City. The  champs were ranked 15th, having not qualified through the Island tournament, but earned a wild card spot and fielded three national under-18 players.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com

Goldstream News Gazette