The Ridge Meadows Lady Bruins rugby squad overcame the weather and being down two players for most of the second half to defeat Burnaby 17-10 in one of the most gut-wrenching games played in Maple Ridge in years.
With only having 15 people to start the game, the Lady Bruins quickly opened the scoring on a try by Dawne Carter, which was converted by Bri Railain to put the locals up 7-0.
The game was played evenly through the first half until Carter broke through to score her second try, to put the score up to 12-0.
Before the end of the first half, the locals lost a player due to injury and couldn’t return to put them down one player.
Within moments of the start of the second half, they lost another player and played the rest of the game with only 13 players against Burnaby’s 15 for the rest of the game.
Burnaby scored soon after to make the score 12-5, before the ladies broke through and after several passes Katie Zadorozny scored to make the score 17-5.
Burnaby scored once again to close the gap to 17-10, and after that it was the determination of the understaffed Ladies team to shut Burnaby down and preserve the victory.
The ladies play United from Coquitlam next week for the BC championships.
Fhe men didn’t fare as well, falling to a much more experienced team from Abbotsford 38-7 to knock them out of the playoffs.
We have improved so much over last year “ said Courtland Ker who scored the only try for the Bruins.
