With one convincing victory, the Bayside Sharks were able to both set themselves up nicely for the playoffs, as well as exact a little revenge in the process.
Last weekend at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, the Sharks first division men's rugby defeated the Vancouver Rowing Club 50-26 in what was a battle for first place in the division. The Sharks now sit three points up on the Rowers, with three games left to play, and have the inside track on a first-round playoff bye and – if things go well – the chance to host the championship game at South Surrey Athletic Park.
The win also helps erase the memory of a 37-35 loss to the Rowers earlier this month.
"It was a pretty good little beat-down we put on them, for sure," said Sharks coach Pat Kearney. "The guys were still kind of sour about how that first game ended, losing by two, so this was a good game for us.
"It was probably the best 80 minute of rugby we've played all season. The guys really came to play."
Isimeli Sigarua led the Sharks with three tries, and Levi Hansen, Zach Thorpe, Cody Rockson, Jason Blaak and Uate Kai Soku had one apiece.
"Singa (Sigarua) played outstanding for us – we centered a lot of the offence around him on Saturday, and he came through," Kearney said.
The only downside, however slight, to last Saturday's performance was the fact that the Rowing Club scored a late try – the team's fourth – which gave them a bonus point in the standings.
"We kind of let them back into it at the end, and gave up that point, but we still did a much better job of keeping them out of it in the second half," he said, alluding to the fact that the Sharks' early-March loss to the Rowers came after a second-half collapse by the South Surrey side.
The focus now is on the team's push for top spot as playoffs near, Kearney said.
"It sets us up very nicely, and now we've just got a few games left so hopefully we can rev it up."
This weekend is a busy one for the Bayside Rugby Club. In addition a slate of home games against Richmond, culminating in first-division matchup at 2:30 p.m., a team of Bayside U23 players – dubbed the Guardians XV – will take on a touring side from New Zealand's Francis Douglas College at South Surrey Athletic Park, at 4 p.m.
Saturday evening, the club will celebrate its 25th year with its annual Bayside Black and White dinner/dance, which will be held at Semiahmoo Secondary, beginning at 6 p.m.
The event is a fundraiser for the eventual construction of a new rugby clubhouse for Bayside Rugby, and will include a live band, silent auction and other activities.