The Earl Marriott Mariners senior boys rugby team made history last week in Japan, placing ninth at the 2013 Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational – the best a Canadian side has ever finished.
The Mariners earned the ninth-place spot by beating Japan’s Nagasaki Nanzan High School 31-29 on May 5, the final day of the tournament.
“It’s amazing. The guys played out of their minds,” said Earl Marriott coach Adam Roberts. “We had a wicked time.”
Prior to this year, the top Canadian finish in the prestigious 16-team event was an honour owned by Shawnigan Lake, who were 10th in 2012.
The tournament featured teams from England, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Russia, Australia, Korea and Japan. Earl Marriott earned the right to represent their country after being selected by Rugby Canada last fall.
The tournament is among the biggest youth rugby events in the world. When they were chosen to go last year, Roberts said “for rugby people, this (event) is like Mecca.”
The Mariners, playing in the tournament’s Pool D, opened on April 28 with a 52-17 loss to the same Nagasaki team they beat on the final day.
They struggled over the next two days of pool play, losing 31-0 to Josho Gakuen High School and then, on Day 3, 117-0 to England powerhouse Hartpury College. Hartpury’s squad was among the best youth teams in the world, and lost in the tournament final 40-8 to New Zealand’s Saint Kentigern College.
After the pool stage, teams moved into what was called the “place decider tournament” which would determine the rankings from ninth through 16th place.
Playing Kokogakuin Kugayama High School (Tokyo), EMS erased a seven-point deficit in the second half to earn a tie, and the Mariners were declared winners by virtue of a tiebreaker.
In their next game, Marriott earned it’s first regulation-time victory, beating Japan’s Meikei High School 22-14.
The win ensured EMS they would finish no worse than 10th.
In the battle for ninth against Nagasaki, the Mariners staked themselves to an early lead, and then held off a late charge from Nagasaki to earn the win.
“The boys dealt with adversity losing the first 3 games and just completely responded and stayed the course,” said Roberts.
The biggest challenge for his team, Roberts said, was adjusting to the pace of some of their Japanese opponents.
“The rugby here in Japan is the quickest rugby at a high school level that I have seen.” he said.
“The Canadian boys figured out the pace of the game and have settled into their own style.”