Since 2007 the Shawnigan Lake Stags have qualified for every AAA or AAAA Rugby Championship Gold Medal game that has been contested.  Yesterday that streak came to a screeching halt with Collingwood’s emphatic 45-14 win.  This was a victory that very few rugby pundits would have predicted considering the incredible success of the Shawnigan program and the fact that this is Collingwood’s first year in AAA rugby.

The Cavs were determined to not be over-awed by the occasion  and this was clear right from the outset when they almost scored in the opening minute.  Only a great desperation tackle prevented Jake M from reaching the try-line.

However, it was only a few minutes later when some crisp handling put Julius R into space and he roared down the right sideline before turning the corner and scoring under the posts.

With their wind at their back, the Cavs continued to dominate, but they could not extend their lead.  A string of penalties gave SLS life and they used this to put their vaunted lineout maul to good use.  Soon it was 7-7.

The Stags followed this up with an opportunistic try off a dropped pass and suddenly it was 14-7 for SLS. 

This switch of momentum might have been devastating for some teams but the Cavs responded almost immediately after a good kick and tackle by Theo Y earned Collingwood a penalty.  A quick-tap by Beau Morgan earned another penalty and from a ruck on the goal-line James S spun the ball wide to Adrian M.  With Theo’s conversion, it was 14-14 at halftime.

The second half was quite simply a masterpiece of running rugby by the Collingwood.  With the wind in their face, Cavs simply decided that they would run the ball wide at the Shawnigan backs who they believed could not keep up to them.

A great run by James off a set play set up Julius’ second try of the day.  This was followed up by a Theo penalty kick to extend the lead to 10 points.  Immediately off the kick-off, the Cavs put together an incredible passage of play that was highlighted by a huge Mitchell S run down the sideline and capped off by a try by Jake under the posts.  Suddenly the lead was 17 points.

A second long-range try from Jake really put the game away with just over five-minutes to go.  The icing on the cake was a try from James to give the Cavs 31 points in the incredible second half.

Collingwood will now face their old rival from AA Robert Bateman in the final on Saturday at noon.

Julius R scores the first try of the game.

Val D powers through a Shawnigan tackle with Beau M, Benny P, James S and Teggen M in support.

Mitch S picks the ball close to the Shawnigan goal-line to set up Collingwood's final try.

(All Photos By Ria Terins)