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Abbotsford rugby club crushes Rowers

Abby vs Rowing Club in Premier division-JOHN MORROW
Shea Bourquin (with ball) of Abbotsford’s Premier League men’s squad tries to break free of the clutches of a Vancouver Rowing Club opponent on Saturday.

A weekend of comprehensive dominance illustrated the ever-expanding depth of the Abbotsford Rugby Football Club.The ARFC men's sides went a perfect 3-0 at Exhibition Park on Saturday, highlighted by the Premier team's huge 64-12 victory over the Vancouver Rowing Club. The Div. 1 squad beat the Rowers 39-10, while the Div. 3 side posted a 53-12 win over United."All three divisions played really well," head coach Jason Young enthused. "Things are really coming together. We've had a lot of guys out at practice, and a lot of depth at all positions. "The club is really young, and it'll be exiting to see where the club will be in the next few years."The Premier side posted its highest offensive output of the season behind multi-try outings from Konrad Rybkowski (3), Kurtis Appeldoorn (2) and Jeremy Swaan (2). It was an important victory for Abbotsford, which improved to 2-1 and strengthened its grip on fourth place in the Premier League's Pool A. The bottom two teams in each of the league's two six-team pools will be relegated at midseason. Thomas Agafonow and Graeme MacRury scored two tries apiece in the Div. 1 win, while Patrick Shields' trio of tries paced the Div. 3 side to victory.Young recently returned from a week-long professional development stint with the Brumbies, a professional rugby side based in Canberra, Australia. He earned the trip after winning a provincial coaching award last year."It was one of the best rugby experiences I've ever had," Young said. "They play in the Super 15s, which is probably the best league in the world. "I put in quite a few hours asking questions of the coaching staff and watching them train, and I got to work with their academy guys and professional guys." Abbotsford's Premier men hit the road to face James Bay on Saturday.