Bears grasp win over Blues in Championship final warm-up

It truly was a game of two halves in the third round of the Canadian Rugby Championships. The BC Bears raged through the first forty minutes to take a 31-0 lead with four tries scored by Aaron McLelland (2), Craig McLaughlin and Phil Mack. It looked like the BC Boys were going to rack up at least a half century at Calgary Rugby Park but all they could do was put over one penalty kick in the second half.

In sharp contrast, the Blues moved around some players and got their serious game face on. Marcello Wainwright put in a sterling performance at flank to score twice within ten minutes of the restart. Dan Moore ran in from the left wing for the Blues third try then Andrew Wilson scored after 34 minutes. Andrew Ferguson slotted in three conversions but, as he rushed through his kicking routine, missed his last one for Wilson’s second try in the closing minute of the game.

It looked like the Blues had plugged the three point gap in the final, thrilling move of the game as Andrew Coe raced down the right wing and plunged over the line with the ball. His pass, however, was ruled forward making the final score 34-31.

The two teams meet again on Saturday at Calgary Rugby Park to contest for the MacTier Cup and the 2017 Canadian Rugby Championship.

Please visit J. Ashley Nixon Photography for more images from the Canadian Rugby Championship and other rugby games.