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South Surrey rugby sides hit the pitch

High school rugby season has kicked off on the Peninsula, as Earl Marriott and Elgin Park has renewed on-pitch rivalries
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The Earl Marriott Mariners’ rugby team (in green and orange) hosted their crosstown rivals from Elgin Park last week

With the weather slowly turning spring-like, so too are the sports being played around the Semiahmoo Peninsula.

Last week, a pair of South Surrey rivals – the Elgin Park Orcas and Earl Marriott Mariners opened the senior boys rugby season with a spirited tilt at Earl Marriott.

The home side, who’ve been among the province’s best since 2010 – they finished fourth in B.C. last season, and have placed in the top-five at provincials three of the last five years – controlled much of the play in the game, especially in the first half when they jumped out to an early lead.

Nick Wright led the Marriott charge with three tries.

Last weekend, the Mariners headed south on a spring-break tour of California, where they were set to play a handful of exhibition tilts against U.S. competition.

When the schedule resumes later this month, all three South Surrey teams will begin their push towards provincials. In addition to Marriott’s fourth-place showing at the 2013 AAA provincials, Semiahmoo placed ninth and Elgin 15th.