A pair of Earl Marriott Secondary rugby players helped lead their B.C. Elite Youth Sevens U18 team to a first-place finish last week at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens tournament, which began March 22 in Kowloon.
Bobby Devaney and Ian McMaster both hit the pitch at the event, which is one of the more renowned stops on the International Rugby Board Sevens World Series’ schedule, while a third South Surrey player, Marriott’s Quinton Willms, missed the event due to injury.
All three were part of the BC Sevens squad that won a title at Las Vegas Sevens earlier this year.
In Hong Kong, the U18s – competing in their first-ever tourney outside of North America – went undefeated en route to the championship, scoring 22 tries in four matches, while holding their opponents scoreless.
Opposition in the eight-team tournament was made up of sides from Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.
“B.C. were deserving winners and turned some heads at the tournament as the other players and coaches were impressed with the team’s speed and skill,” said Doug Tate, B.C.’s team manager and former Canadian national sevens team head coach.
In round-robin play, B.C. blanked Hong Kong club team Dea Tigers-II 63-0, downed the Hong-Kong-based Flying Kukris 40-0, and beat Thai club Bangkok-Lions 28-0. The final was a much closer affair where B.C. handed the Dea Tigers-I a 21-0 defeat.
“The Cup Final was a much more physical game and B.C. had to defend well to stop the Dea Tigers from scoring. A strong second half put the game away, as the defensive pressure forced the Dea Tigers into a series of mistakes.”
– with files from Comox Valley Record
