The University of Victoria Vikes men’s rugby team picked up their third consecutive victory on Saturday Mar. 23 with another 60-point effort as they defeated Westshore RFC 67-5 under clear blue skies at Wallace Field in Victoria.
The Vikes improve their record to 8-6 as they continue to try and lock down a playoff spot with two games remaining on their schedule.
“I am very happy with our performance today,” said Vikes head coach Doug Tate. “Westshore had to deal with some key injuries today which was unfortunate but I was pleased with our play around the ruck, our ability to offload in contact and just our overall team speed.”
Victoria got on the board early when winger Kapi Vataiki touched down his first of two tries on the day in the ninth minute of the match. Shortly after, a successful penalty kick by Gradyn Bowd combined with a try from flanker Thomas Heuser gave the Vikes a 13-0 lead in the 14thminute.
In the 30thminute, Saskatchewan nativeMostyn Findlay offloaded the ball perfectly into the hands of hooker Tyler Rockwell for a 20-0 edge over Westshore. Before the half was out the home side enjoyed two more scores coming from Vataiki and his opposite winger Karsten Leitner. The Vikes held a 34-0 advantage at the conclusion of the opening half.
Leitner completed his hat trick with two more scores coming at the 46thand 49thminute mark.
“We really utilized our speed to get us around the outside of the defensive line and the guys were running great support lines as well,” added Tate
Westshore’s only try came in the 54thminute when they managed to swing the ball out to their winger who plunged over the line in the corner.
“Besides the one try we gave up, our team defence was outstanding today against some pretty talented and dangerous players in the Westshore backline.”
Gavin Kratz, James O’Neill and Ethan Hager all scored before time was up as the Vikes cruised to the 67-5 victory on their home turf.
The Vikes will travel to Vancouver next weekend for their final road game of the year to take on the Meraloma Rugby Club on Saturday, Mar. 30. Victoria will host the Seattle Saracens for their final home regular season game on April 6that 2:30 p.m.
