Powell River Otago Rugby Club finished its season on a winning note after a string of victories against Vancouver Island first and third division opposition during the 2024/2025 campaign.
Otago was scheduled to participate in a 10-a-side tournament in Victoria on May 10 and almost didn’t make it because of an accident on the Malahat Highway that held up traffic.
“We almost thought that we weren’t going to make it because there was a major accident on the highway and traffic wasn’t moving at all,” said Otago spokesperson Jack Beardmore. “However, they cleared it and we did make it through, but arrived late. One game had already been played and the second was in progress. We were told we were playing as soon as the game in progress was over. We hardly got a warm-up for the first game.”
Beardmore said Otago went up against Cowichan, and for the first five minutes, the game was back and forth.
“You could tell we didn’t have a proper warm-up, but after, our guys just started putting it to Cowichan,” said Beardmore. “We went up two trys to zero really quickly. Then, we scored a third one.
“Cowichan came back and scored one, and then scored again twice, and we were tied at the half.”
Beardmore said in the second half, the minute the whistle went and Sawyer Gowan took the ball right through the opposition for his third try of the game.
“He was definitely the man of the match,” said Beardmore. “Our coach, Geoff Matheson, scored a try, and Shane Morrissey got two as well. So, it was an all-round effort by everybody. We won the game 40 points to 20.”
Beardmore said although Powell River was shaky at the start, as the game advanced, Otago took away the opposition’s space so quickly they couldn’t break the line. He said Otago created numerous turnovers and capitalized on them.
“I was on the sidelines at the game and I could hear people talking, saying Otago was heads above the opposition,” said Beardmore.
Because of the late start, it was decided that Otago would play another game right after the first, this one 15-a-side. Beardmore said the game featured Powell River against a team made up of the host Rising Tide, and the Castaway Wanderers, both from Victoria, plus the Cowichan side. Beardmore said Otago had to borrow some players because the club didn’t travel with enough players to make up the 15, because of injuries and family commitments.
“We were missing five quality players and still played at an elevated level,” said Beardmore. “In the second game, we started off quickly and scored a try. On the ensuing kickoff, we went through about 12 phases of rugby, because the opposition was a strong side, hitting us hard and containing us, but we didn’t turn the ball over. We went through the 12 phases and finally the break came, with Sawyer scoring another try for his fourth of the day.”
The Vancouver Island opposition came back and scored on Otago to even the score to tie the game up. Late in the game, Morrissey made a breakthrough on a kick and dribbled the ball with another kick, catching up with it and scoring the winning try, for a final score of 15-10 for Otago.
Beardmore said this tournament will be the final action of the season before the club’s 50th anniversary celebration June 20 and 21.
“Otago ended the season on a winning note – a convincing winning note,” said Beardmore. “What a season we’ve had. We played 12 third division games and won 11. We also played three first division games and won one of those as well.
“To say this was a successful season would be an understatement. It’s something we’ve been working hard to build toward. I couldn’t be prouder of our guys.”
Beardmore said the team has been phenomenally coached by Geoff Matheson, and Edward Best, the team’s captain, has been a real leader on and off the field, doing a phenomenal job in his leadership position.
“All around, the guys have really responded and we’re ready for our 50th anniversary game against Comox, which is a first division team.”
Otago’s 50th anniversary celebration will feature several events, including golf, a meet-and-greet, plus afternoon rugby games on June 21, featuring women’s rugby, the old boys and senior men’s team, played at Cranberry Field, starting at 12:30 pm.
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