The two-headed monster that is the UVic Vikes men’s rugby team was once again at its fiercest on Saturday, defeating the James Bay Athletic Association 41-26 at MacDonald Park.
The CDI Premmier League quarterfinal win sets up a Vikes and Castaway-Wanderers semifinal at Windsor Park on April 30.
On Saturday the Vikes scored seven tries, five of them in the second half to pull away in a game the Bays led 16-12 at halftime.
During the middle of the CDI season the Vikes struggled without the core of national sevens team players Phil Mack, Nathan Hirayama and Sean Duke. The latter trio were successful helping Canada to win their second bowl championship at the Hong Kong sevens tournament in as many years.
With them back in the fold the Vikes are reminisicient of the same team that knocked James Bay out of the CDI semifinals in 2010.
“The guys really had to (Saturday) because James Bay just kept coming,” Vikes head coach Doug Tate said on the UVic’s website. “If you think about how much possession (James Bay) had… at the beginning of the second half, they had the ball for 10 minutes.”
Riordan scored a try in rare fashion as the hooker rambled 60 metres.
“If it had been another two metres, (Bays fullback) Connor Braid would have caught me,” Riordan said.
Hirayama led UVic with 11 points on a try and three conversions while Riordan added 10 points on two tries. Mack, Andrew Tiedemann, Brett Beukeboom and Dustin Dobravsky also scored tries.
James Bay’s Connor Braid accounted for 16 points with Thyssen de Goede and John Moonlight scoring a try.
The UBC Old Boy Ravens defeated Burnaby Lake 35-18 in the other quarterfinal. Meraloma and the Ravens will clash in the mainland semifinal, also on April 30.
Ceili’s Cup playoffs
The Bays and Castaway-Wanderers both advance to the semifinals of the the Ceili’s Cup League quarterfinals, formerly known as the CDI Premier League first division.
James Bay defeated the UBC Old Boy Ravens 35-20 in overtime and the Castaway-Wanderers edged the Bayside Sharks 20-17.
The semifinals on April 30 are as follows: Castaway-Wanderers visit Burnaby Lake, James Bay visit UVic Norsemen.