Wily veteran Geoff Ryan delivered the telling blow last Saturday, lifting the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club’s premier men’s team to a 10-3 win over the UBC Thunderbirds at Burnaby Lake.
Down 3-0 after the visitors cashed in a penalty kick just eight minutes into the contest, Burnaby proved resilient as the two teams put the pressure on in a long field battle. With halftime looming, the hosts marched the ball down to the T-birds’ five-metre line before hitting the wall. Fortunately, Ryan garnered one more push, faking one pass to deke out a defender, then turnstiling another tackler on his way across the try line.
Following Ryan’s convert kick, Burnaby held a 7-3 advantage as the two teams prepared for the second half.
While UBC were within striking distance, the Burnaby tacklers made sure they didn’t get in for a try. Ryan rounded out the scoring with a penalty kick late in the game.
Supplying outstanding work at outside centre was Ben McDougall, while Jamie Kelly and Chris Atkinson delivered key contributions on the front row at hooker and prop respectively. Earning player of the match honours was Adrian Longbone.
Burnaby plays host this Saturday, 2:30 p.m., to the Vancouver Rowing Club.
In premier reserves play, the BLRC squad outlasted the UBC Braves 31-25, thanks to fullback Blake Steele’s 50-metre run in the fourth quarter.
The Burnaby Lake tier 1 women’s team opens the season this Saturday when they visit Abbotsford.
