It came down to size against speed when the Cowichan Piggies played host to the Langley Rugby Club last Saturday, and in the end, the faster Piggies prevailed 29-8.
Cowichan fielded a young, quick team against a Langley side that amazed Cowichan head coach Andrew Wright.
“They were massive,” Wright said. “I don’t know what’s in the water over there on the Mainland.”
Langley didn’t use their size to their advantage, however, and didn’t create the driving mauls that probably would have led to some success against the smaller Cowichan players.
“That would have changed the game drastically,” Wright said.
The visitors drew first blood, kicking the ball deep on a free penalty and scoring off the ensuing lineout. They missed the conversion, and when Bruce Moss scored a breakaway for Cowichan less than five minutes later, a successful kick by Jenner Teufel gave the Piggies a 7-5 edge. The lead was short-lived as Langley kicked a penalty goal to go up by one point.
Owen Wood turned the tide for good, though, when he scored twice in the last five minutes of the first half. On his first try, he chipped the ball ahead and tracked it down in the end zone. The next one he dotted down in the corner. Teufel slotted the conversion on Wood’s first, and the Piggies were up 19-8 at halftime.
Owen Wood scores
“The boys were confident, but they knew Langley could bring it back quickly,” Wright noted.
Cowichan’s speed and technical superiority were on display in the second half.
“We started running them around,” Wright said. “We could tell they were getting confused. Defensively, we started breaking down, and if they had recognized that, they could have punished us.”
The Piggies had two men in the sin bin less than 10 minutes unto the second half, but that didn’t prevent them from adding to their offensive totals. They managed to keep the ball in hand, which prevented Langley from scoring, and sent Colten Smith over the line for another five points.
“He did a great move on the wing,” Wright said of Wood. “He basically tied the guy’s cleats up around his neck and went down the sideline.”
Wood completed his hat trick with about 10 minutes left to play.
The Cowichan players could still feel the impact of the game the next day.
“With Langley’s size advantage, the boys were really putting their bodies on the line,” Wright said. “When Sunday game, the boys were all pretty sore, which is a testament to the game.”
The victory showed the Piggies that they’ll be able to contend with Mainland teams in the provincial playoffs.
“It gave us tremendous confidence to know that we lost to Bayside [in the fall] but beat Langley,” Wright said. “It’s good to know where we stack up.”
The Cowichan men will be at home again this Saturday for a Times Cup game against Westshore, kicking off at 1 p.m.
“It’s always a battle with them,” Wright said. “We’re expecting the same type of game we had against Langley. We have to keep our wits about us and remember we can win and control things with the knowledge we have.”
The Piggies sit first in the Times Cup standings, and can clinch the title with a win this weekend. Westshore is in second, but this is their sixth and final game, while Cowichan has one more in the series.
This is Wright’s first year as Cowichan’s head coach, but he was a player on the last Cowichan team to hoist the Times Cup, and would love to help the club reclaim the trophy.
“Everyone is really excited,” Wright said. It’s always exciting to have a chance to get some hardware.”
