BC Rugby – Vancouver, BC – June 27, 2016: It was a gripping conclusion to the B2Gold Provincial Regional Championships (PRCs) on Sunday, as several gold medal games went to the wire.

Vancouver Island Junior Tide winger Matt Hagkull came off the bench to score a sensational try in the final minute of the U16 Boys’ Championship game, lifting his side to an 8-7 victory over the North Vancouver Island Tsunami.

The Tide were also able to secure a try in the waning moments of the U18 Boys’ Final, closing out a nail-biting contest with a 25-23 win over the defending champions from the Fraser Valley.

“It was a fantastic tournament,” said Dean Murten, BC Rugby’s Performance Development Manager. “The athletes showed a lot of poise and put on a great display of quality rugby.”

The B2Gold Provincial Regional Championship featured over 30 youth representative teams drawn from five geographical regions across BC. Over 600 male and females athletes aged 13-18 participated in the event, which was held at Burnaby Lake. It was one of the most compelling editions of the tournament in recent memory, with at least one team from each zone reaching a Championship final.

The Thompson-Okanagan Rugby Alliance enjoyed one of its best ever performances at the PRCs, reaching the Finals in the U18 Girls’ and U16 Girls’ Divisions. While both teams finished with silver medals, the achievement of reaching the championship games in the highly competitive divisions points directly to the positive trend of youth rugby in the Interior.

The Fraser Valley Rugby Union equally continued its track record of strong performances at the youth level, capturing gold in the U18 Girls’ and U16 Girls’ division.

The teams from Vancouver Rugby Union also found a great deal of success in the tournament. The U17 Boys and U14 Boys both went undefeated on the weekend en-route to first place finishes. Impressively, they U14 Boys were able to overturn a 12 point deficit against Fraser Valley in the Final and rally to a 19-12 victory. Shortly after, Vancouver’s West and North Teams met in the U15 Boys’ final, with the latter claiming gold.

Results

U14 Boys
Gold medal game: Vancouver (South) 19-12 Fraser Valley
Bronze medal game: Vancouver (North) 26-5 Thompson Okanagan

U15 Boys
Gold medal game: Vancouver (North) 22-5 Vancouver (West)
Bronze medal game: Fraser Valley 45-10 Vancouver (South)

U16 Boys
Gold medal game: Vancouver Island Jr. Tide 8-7 North Vancouver Island Tsunami

U16 Girls
Gold medal game: Fraser Valley 44-0 Thompson-Okanagan
Bronze medal game: Vancouver 17-15 Vancouver Island

U17 Boys
Four game round robin format: Vancouver won all four games.

U18 Boys
Gold medal game: Vancouver Island 25-23 Fraser Valley

U18 Girls
Gold medal game: Fraser Valley 12-0 Thompson-Okanagan
Bronze medal game: Vancouver Island Jr. Tide 46-0 North Vancouver Island Tsunami

To see all the fixtures and results from the B2Gold PRCs, click here.

B2Gold Provincial Regional Championship Divisions

• Under-18 Girls
• Under-16 Girls
• Under-18 Boys
• Under-17 Boys
• Under-16 Boys
• Under-15 Boys
• Under-14 Boys

Regions Competing in the Tournament

• Vancouver Rugby Union Wave (team colours: blue and white)
• Vancouver Island Rugby Union Junior Tide (team colours: red and white)
• North Vancouver Island Tsunami (team colours: blue and white)
• Thompson-Okanagan Rugby Alliance (team colours: orange and black)
• Fraser Valley Rugby Union (team colours: green and yellow)

Event Details:
Location: Burnaby Lake Rugby Club, 3760 Sperling Avenue.
Day 1: June 25th, 2016, from 9:00am to 5:30pm
Day 2: June 26th, 2016. from 11:00am to 7:00pm

Broadcast and highlights:
Full game replays of the following matches can be found on bcrugby.com/live.

U16 Boys’ Final: Vancouver Island Jr. Tide 8-7 North Vancouver Island Tsunami
U16 Girls’  Final: Fraser Valley 44-0 Thompson-Okanagan
U15 Boys’ Final: Vancouver (North) 22-5 Vancouver (West)
U14 Boys’ Final: Vancouver (South) 19-12 Fraser Valley

Highlights of those matches, which are free to use, embed and distribute, can be found on Youtube. For the playlist, click here.
 
More information about BC Rugby
The British Columbia Rugby Union, commonly known as BC Rugby, is the governing body for Rugby in British Columbia and is a Provincial Union of Rugby Canada, the national governing body. Representing over 7,500 individuals registered through more than 50 Member Clubs and Associations across the Province, BC Rugby leads and manages the sport with the aim to grow participation and develop excellence in all games of Rugby and in all facets of the sport.
 
Web: bcrugby.com
Twitter: twitter.com/bcrugbyunion
Facebook: facebook.com/bcrugbyunion

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For further information about BC Rugby or this event, contact:
 
Brendan Munro
Communications Manager – BC Rugby 
Tel: +1- 604-737-3070
Cell: +1-604-349-3104
bmunro@bcrugby.com

Images: Vancouver Island Rugby Union celebrate a game winning try in the Boys’ U16 division. Fraser Valley (green) held Thompson-Okanagan (red) in check during a close fought U18 Girls’ Division Final. Photo credit PJ Carr.