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Abbotsford rugby teams win provincials

Clubs dedicate wins to Coach Cannon
Abby firsts in action against Meraloma's from Vancouver.
ARFC teams picked up a pair of BC rugby titles over the weekend.

Make some space in the trophy case for the Abbotsford Rugby Football Club.

ARFC sent four teams to the rugby provincials in West Vancouver on Saturday, and both the men's division one and women's division one clubs took home top prize.

The men took extra time to capture the title, edging the Surrey Beavers 38-31.

Jake Thiel, Ryan March and Kurtis Appeldoorn (two) scored tries for ARFC. Joshua Thiel added two successful converts, and Dan Tou added one. Joshua Thiel also converted four penalty kicks to lead ARFC to victory.

The game's final moments saw Surrey fight back from a 26-14 deficit to send the game to extra time. Abbotsford was in tough, as they had received two yellow cards and were playing two men down as a result.

But Appeldorn proved to be the difference and was clutch in the extra frame, scoring two tries. Tou added a successful convert to give Abbotsford some insurance. The Beavers added a late try, but ARFC held on for the win.

The win and the provincial title capped off a perfect season for the division one men's team.

Also capturing the provincial crown was the division one women's team, who defeated United 48-24.

Steph Wiebe, Elyssa Phillipson, Mackenzie Carson, Natalie Teteris (two), Meghan Wellis (two) and Yuka Kubota all scored tries for the women. Mackenzie Fowler made four converts in the win.

The division two and three men's teams both came up short in the provincial finals, both falling to arch rival Meralomas.

Division two lost 40-15, and got tries from Bryce Hewko and Christopher Gilding. Solomon Puckey added a convert and penalty kick in the loss.

Division three fell 31-20, and got on the board through tries from Tyler Adams and Leon Lokombo (two). Ryan McWhinney added a convert and a penalty kick.

All four clubs dedicated their title runs to honour Abbotsford rugby legend and former ARFC coach John Cannon, who died earlier this year.

The provincials wrapped up the rugby union season for Abbotsford, and ARFC teams now move into rugby sevens and rugby league season.

The rugby league season kicks off at the Vancouver nines tournament starting on May 28.

Abbotsford then hosts a sevens tournament at Exhibition Park on the June 4th weekend.

The VIP Mazda Abbotsford sevens tournament features men's, women's and youth divisions, and a skills competition. Visit abbotsfordrugby.com for more details on the event.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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