This year’s Grade 8 rugby teams has done very well for being brand new to the sport.  The team was led by a strong forward pack and by an exciting group of backs. They started off the season with an exhibition win against Burnaby South.  In the regular season the team went 2 and 2 with wins against Byrne Creek and a very close loss to Mountain 21-22.  They also came up short against West Van in an exhibition game but played a very exciting style of rugby and showed a lot of skill development.  The boys applied what they learned from these loses to put together their best rugby at the end of the season. At our lunch meeting prior to the final it was obvious the team did not think they could overcome two tough losses earlier in the season to the strong Mountain team. Led by the belief of our leaders the boys left the meeting with a renewed winning attitude. They executed our game plan to perfection. With the boys up after the fist half, Mountain came out in the 2nd with a strong push. With our opposition mounting a comeback, the team lost their captain Owen and it looked like it was heading for a Burnaby Mountain victory. Owen refused to leave the field as he watched with a broken nose. The team then rallied around his inspiration and great runs from Justin Tommi, and Ryben, as well as big tackles and rucking from Max, Nick, Roko, TJ and Aiden, and, some clutch kicking from Ivan to close out the win 42 to 34. The coaches were especially proud of the courage and character the team showed to win the Burnaby Banner against a strong opponent. They showed great rugby IQ, toughness, athleticism and team play to finish the season on the a winning note. Great season boys!Our point leaders are :

Evan V – 1 Try 26 converts, 57 points

Owen P – 8 Tries, 40 points

Justin W – 6 Tries, 30 points

Tommi M – 6 Tries, 30 points

Ryben N – 5 Tries, 25 points

Aiden L – 2 Try, 10 points

Mikkal – 3 converts, 6 points

TJ – 1 Try, 5 points

Nikos – 1 Try, 5 points

Rokko – 1 Try, 5 points

Award Winners:

League All Stars: Owen P, Ivan V

Top Forward: Aiden L

Top Back: Ryben N