By Alain Saulnier (DRHS Rugby Coach)
FOR THE DIGBY COURIER
NovaNewsNow.com
Digby’s rugby squad will not advance to Districts.
The Digby Regional High School rugby team lost 19-0 at home to the West Kings Wolverines on Thursday, May 17 and lost any hope of moving on.
The Wolverines got off to a quick start. They scored a corner try (5 pts) in the first 5 minutes and converted (2 pts) on a nice angle kick. The Mariners played some really strong defence tackling and mauling at a feverish pace.
With 10 minutes before the end of the half, the Wolverines began to connect some nice phases with precision passing, mixing loops and some dummy switch passes. West Kings caught the Digby backs off guard for two late tries and converted one. At halftime, West Kings led 19 – 0.
The second half was an entirely different story. The Mariners attacked and pressured the Wolverines at every opportunity. Digby was able to win most of the rucks and mauls while winning their share of scrums.
All-Star standoff Spencer Wyatt played strong on the ball as the replacement scrum half and directed a series of successful phases. Mike Albright, Ron Morehouse and Kyle Potter came close to pounding in a try as Digby continued their relentless pressure near the try zone.
This pressure intensified when Aaron Thibault and Antony Kelly finally arrived from Track & Field throwing themselves into the mix. Thibault tore through some tackles to set up some very productive rucks.
At the end of one ruck, Thor Thurber picked up the ball, flew past 4 opposition players and dove by three more, landing only inches short of the Try Zone. Wow! What an effort!
The Mariners dominated the second half but the desperate Wolverine defensive posture stood up. The final score was West Kings 19 and Digby nil.
Starting scrum half Eric Cook missed the game after hurting his hand in a freak accident requiring many stitches.
The final regular season game will be in Digby on Tuesday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. against archrival Middleton High. This game will wrap up a very productive season.
