The senior boys AAA and AA rugby provincials take over Abbotsford's Exhibition Park fields on Wednesday, but there won't be any local teams on the championship side of the draw.
Both of the Abbotsford teams that qualified, the Bateman T-Wolves and Yale Lions, suffered upset losses during AAA first-round play on Saturday at St. George's School in Vancouver.
The sixth-seeded T-Wolves fell 17-15 to Handsworth of North Vancouver, despite tries from Colton Bergman, Jorden Best and Eric Roberts.
"We didn't show up and play our best, and that's what it takes this time of year," said Bateman coach Stephen Rowell, noting that Handsworth was full value for the win. "We had a number of scoring opportunities, but we just failed to execute."
The eighth-seeded Lions dropped a 21-19 decision to No. 9 Lord Byng of Vancouver in a game that was marred by controversy. Yale coach Doug Primrose felt that one of Lord Byng's converts did not, in fact, pass through the uprights. But it counted, and that ended up being the margin of victory.
"For some reason, they (the officials) called it good," Primrose said. "The whole sideline erupted, even people from other teams. We would have liked to go to overtime, but that's the way it goes."
The Lions actually had a chance to win it in the late going, but Akash Deo's penalty kick from a tough angle just missed.
"He hit it well, but it caught a bit of wind and sailed a bit wide," Primrose said.
Thomas Choi had Yale's lone try, while Deo finished with 14 points on kicks.
On the consolation side of the AAA draw, Bateman plays Argyle of North Van, while Yale plays West Van. Both games are at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Boys rugby provincials runs Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at Exhibition Park, with the championship games set for 2:30 p.m. (AA) and 4 p.m. (AAA) on Saturday. For a full schedule, visit bcssru.com.