Vancouver, BC: Led by a hat trick of tries from their captain Doug Fraser, the Vancouver Island Rising Tide downed the defending BC U20 Dunbar Keg champs 46-24 to kick off the 2011 provincial competition.

The Wave led 16-15 at the break, but Vancouver Island's superior fitness proved to be a major factor in the decisive 31-point second half.

"Vancouver were a more forward oriented team than we had anticipated," said Vancouver Island head coach Ken Goodland. "But it actually worked to our advantage as we were a lighter and faster team. We had really been working on our fitness over the last few weeks and that ended up really paying off for us today."

Two of Vancouver Island's tries were recored by Scott MacLeod and Dustin Dobravsky, both members of the Canadian Under-20 National Team who recently toured to Georgia for the Junior World Rugby Trophy. Further tries were scored by Mar Van Del Wal and Kapi Vataiki. Canadian international Carlin Hamstra contributed 11 points through four conversions and one penalty.

Vancouver's tries were recorded by Grant Clark and Tommy Kirkham. Connor Fuller led all scorers for the Wave, kicking one conversion and four penalties for 14 points.

"I'm really proud of our team," added Goodland. "We had no clue heading into this match what to expect in terms of opposition. But our players went out and played with energy and had fun. Today was our day."

Next up, the Vancouver Island Rising Tide head home to host Fraser Valley on Saturday, July 16th. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00pm at Peninsula School in Sidney.

2011 BC U20 Dunbar Keg Schedule
Vancouver Island Rising Tide 46- 24 Vancouver Wave
2:00pm - Sat. July 16: Fraser Valley at Vancouver Island Rising Tide (Peninsula School, Victoria)
7:00pm - Fri. July 22: Vancouver Wave at Fraser Valley (Crush Crescent, Langley)
Sat. July 30: Dunbar Keg Provincial Final (Klahanie Park, West Vancouver)

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