Competing in their first-ever tournament since Trinity Western reestablished its men’s rugby program, the Langley-based Spartans won the University of Western Washington’s “Viking 10s” tournament, beating the home side 22-10 in the final.
The Spartans top team went a perfect 4-0 on the day, winning its two pool play matches before beating TWU’s second team in the semifinal to set up their championship date with the host WWU.
In the final, TWU held a 10-5 edge at halftime, before WWU evened the score 10-10 early in the second half. However, the Spartans responded with Caleb Gerth (Langley, B.C.) and Jacob Sousa scoring (Langley) second-half tries to seal the win.
The Spartans second team also put together a strong performance, going 2-2 in its four games.
The tournament featured teams from the University of Washington, WWU and TWU.
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TWU Head Coach Andy Evans said the highlight was defence.
“We had really aggressive tackling and some bone-crushing tackles that Spartan fans will love to see,” Evans said.
“We had a lot of great performances today. Nate (Schroeder) had incredibly vicious tackles, driving the other teams backwards and had a tremendous work rate and outstanding outside speed. Jacob Sousa was also very impressive throughout the day.”
Spartan Oliver Feagin commented that “it was great to play with our brothers.”
“We’ve been practicing really hard and it was awesome to get on the field and show what we’ve been working on,” Feagin noted.
“I think the biggest takeaway is just how much more we can improve and how hard we’re going to work to reach the next levels.”
Next up, Spartans compete in the West Coast 7s Treasure Island in San Francisco Oct. 19-20 when TWU will face some of the very best NCAA competition.