The provincial title hopes for a pair of South Surrey senior boys rugby teams have been dashed.
On Wednesday at Abbotsford’s Rotary Stadium, both the Earl Marriott Mariners and Southridge Storm lost their second-round provincial matchups. EMS, ranked No. 6 in the AAA tournament, fell 19-13 to third-ranked Oak Bay, while Southridge, playing at the AA level, dropped a 46-3 decision to the No. 1-seeded Rockridge Ravens from West Vancouver.
With the losses, neither squad can finish higher than fifth in their respective tournaments.
EMS faces Carson Graham Secondary today.
The Mariners nearly escaped from Wednesday’s game with a victory, but a late push from Oak Bay knocked them from contention.
Marriott was up 13-11 with five minutes remaining, but a penalty call went against them – and Oak Bay knocked through the penalty kick – to give the Island side a 14-13 lead. In the waning minutes, Oak Bay tacked on a long-distance try for good measure.
“Its tough, man,” said EMS coach Adam Roberts. “I don’t know what these guys did in another life, but they have no karma, no luck, and can’t get a bounce. It’s been (like that) our whole season.”
The Semiahmoo Totems, meanwhile, also lost Wednesday, 16-8 to the G.P. Vanier Towhees. The Totems – seeded 15th – had been bounced to the consolation bracket after a first-round loss to the No. 2 St. George’s Saints Saturday.
The provincial tournament wraps up Saturday.
