The pieces are falling into place for the senior boys high school rugby playoffs and a new tournament structure intended to prevent the double-barrelled disparity of a shutout blowout.
The B.C. Secondary School Rugby Union introduced changes that bring a AAAA tier into the fold for the provincial championship after four regional playoff rounds establish their winners.
Each winner from the Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, North Island and South Island will seed four berths and play for the AAAA B.C. title. The silver-medallists and other finishers in these regions will slot into the AAA provincial championship at either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 levels.
For example, drawing from results from the ongoing Lower Mainland zone tournament, St. George’s and Carson Graham secondaries will play May 19 for the single Lower Mainland berth at the new AAAA level. The loser of that match will advance as the top seed in the AAA Tier 1 tournament and will be joined by the winner of a May 17 game between West Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»and Handsworth. The loser in that match will head to AAA Tier 2 tournament along with the winner of the May 17 meeting of Argyle and Kitsilano.
In all, five Lower Mainland teams stand to advance to the provincial round of playoffs.
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The intent of the new playoff structure is to invite more parity amongst the teams in a league that has been dominated by two powerhouse schools, the North Island zone perennial champion Shawnigan Lake and Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»all-boys school, St. George’s. Those two teams have met each other in the championship final for the past six years. One of the two has won the title for the past seven years and the last time two different schools competed for the honour, the league’s current Grade 12 players were in kindergarten.
Previously, the top ranked team in B.C. would play the 16th ranked team, a match up that last year saw Courtenay’s G.P. Vanier lose to Shawnigan Like by a terrible margin of 112-0. Even the semi-finals showed imbalanced scorelines. Instead of a contest between well-matched teams, Shawnigan and St. George’s defeated their opponents by a combined 83-3 to reach the final. The third-place game was the tightest, with Yale winning a 22-point tie game over Earl Marriott for having scored more tries.
A desire to avoid an extreme mismatch persists at the Lower Mainland tournament, where Prince of Wales forfeited an opening round game against St. George’s.
The introduction of the AAAA tier levels the playing field in another way, said Kitsilano rugby coach Don Staller. Inequities exist in high school sport that aren’t contained to the game itself given the economic inequality between public schools and private schools that have the ability to hire and, in some cases, pay coaching staff and provide additional training resources.
“The new format is a step in the right direction, allowing more teams to compete at levels where they are competitive,” said Staller.
“Some schools don't have as many kids to draw from and/or coaches on staff to make it work. Some schools — like the private ones — have the luxury of hiring coaches based on needs, give them less blocks to teach, or pay to have outside coaches come in. So competing wherever the playing field is level works best.”
Kitsilano upset the top-10 ranked Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 16-15 to win the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»city championship May 3 to win the title for the first time since 2010.Â
