CALGARY - Canada Under-20 international James Pitblado (Vancouver) scored the go-ahead try in the dying minutes of Sunday's national final to lift British Columbia to their second straight under-19 Canadian Rugby Championship.
Down 13-10 for much of the second half, a charge down by scrum half Jorden Sandover-Best (Abbotsford) opened the door for Pitblado's late heroics as B.C. spun the ball wide and scored the pivotal try for the 15-13 win over hosts Prairie Wolf Pack.
"We were down but had most of the possession for the final 20 minutes," said B.C. head coach Kris de Scossa in a Rugby B.C. press release. "We were very good at using our bench throughout the tournament and again it really helped when we brought on fresh legs. We stuck to the process and were creating scoring opportunities, and finally it came with under a minute to play."
Sandover-Best - also a Canada U20 rep - had tallied a try of his own in the first half, and with a conversion and penalty from Quinton Willms (White Rock), B.C. trailed 13-10 at the break. The Wolf Pack's 13 points were notched on tries from Wade Lavalee and Ben LeSage, with Adam McQueen kicking a penalty.
The two sides had previously met the day before in the final match of the round-robin where B.C. came out on top with a 33-15 decision. B.C. went into the final undefeated, outscoring their opponents 98-47.
"This is a great group of players who know each other well from previous years together," added de Scossa. "They were able to gel as a team during the tournament and were able to produce some quality rugby over the four games."
Ontario took home third place with a convincing 53-3 win over Ontario East-Quebec reps Voyageurs.
Box Score - 2013 National Final
B.C. - 15 pts
Tries: Jorden Sandover-Best, James Pitblado
Conversions: Quinton Willms
Penalties: Quinton WIllms
Wolf Pack - 13 pts
Tries: Wade Lavalee, Ben LeSage
Penalties: Adam McQueen
British Columbia
1-Liam Beaulieu, 2-Nolan Laderoute, 3-Neil Courtney, 4-Reid Tucker, 5-Connor Hamilton, 6-Jeff Nishima-Miller, 7-Nathan Hight, 8-Haydn Evans, 9-Jorden Sandover-Best, 10-Quinton Willms, 11-Crosby Stewart, 12-Joe Erlic, 13-Nathan Yanagiya, 14-Austin Karius, 15-James Pitblado
Reserves
16-Jacob Collins, 17-MacBryan Bos, 18-Dylan Kiselbach, 19-Connor Weyell, 20-Cole Mosychuk, 21-Sebastian Gibson, 22-Gavin McLean
Wolf Pack
1-Trent Bennett (AB), 2- Matt Harrison (C) (MB), 3- Jack Sponarski (AB), 4- Wade Lavallee (SK), 5- Callum Moore (AB), 6- Kieran Lauridsen (AB), 7- Orrin Farries (AB), 8- Josh Hotchkiss (AB), 9- Jay Welsh (AB), 10- Adam McQueen (VC) (AB), 11- Brandon Wayean (AB), 12- Ben LeSage (AB), 13- Connor Macrae (AB), 14- Evan Beck (AB), 15- Brandon Harrison (AB)
Reserves
16- Kaij Mychalchuk (MB), 17- Jared Goosen (SK), 18- Brooks Johnson (SK), 19- Jonny VanElslander (MB), 20- Matt Sutherland (AB), 21- Ben Pluck (AB), 22- William Jacklin-Watt (SK)
July 17-21. Under-19 Canadian Rugby Championship (Calgary Rugby Park)
July 17th - British Columbia 22-20 Ontario Blues
July 18th - B.C. 43-12 Voyageurs
July 20th - B.C. 33-15 Prairie Wolf Pack
Playoff Rounds - Sunday, July 21 - 3rd/4th Consolation Ontario 53-3 Voyageurs
Playoff Rounds - Sunday, July 21 - National Final B.C. 15-13 Prairie Wolf Pack
Tournament leading scorers:
33 pts - Quinton Willms (British Columbia)
20 pts - Nathan Yanagiya (British Columbia)
17 pts - Adam McQueen (Prairie Wolf Pack)
15 pts - Brandon Harrison (Prairie Wolf Pack)
15 pts - James Pitblado (British Columbia)
15 pts - Kainoa Lloyd (Ontario)
10 pts - MacBryan Bos (British Columbia)
B.C. Under-19 Men's CRC roster
1. Neil Courtney* - Loose Head Prop (Capilano RFC / UBC Thunderbirds)
2. Liam Beaulieu - Loose Head Prop (Bayside Athletic Association)
3. Jacob Collins - Hooker (United Rugby Club)
4. Nolan Laderoute - Hoooker (Vancouver Rowing Club)
5. Macbryan Bos - Tighthead Prop (UVic Vikes)
6. Dylan Kiselbach - Tighthead Prop (Bayside Athletic Association/ UBC Thunderbirds)
7. Reid Tucker - Lock (Capilano RFC)
8. Connor Hamilton* - Lock (UBC Thunderbirds)
9. Connor Weyell - Lock (Capilano RFC)
10. Nathaniel Hight - Flanker (Surrey Beavers AA)
11. Jeff Nishima-Miller - Flanker (Castaway Wanderers / UVic Vikes)
12. Cole Mosychuk - Flanker (UBC Okanagan / Kelowna Crows)
13. Robert Fenton - Flanker (Vancouver Rowing Club)
14. Haydn Evans - No. 8 (UVic Vikes)
15. James Pitblado* - Scrum Half (Vancouver Rowing Club / UVic Vikes)
16. Jorden Sandover-Best* - Scrum Half (UBC Thunderbirds)
17. Quinton Willms - Fly Half (Bayside Athletic Association)
18. Crosby Stewart - Wing (James Bay Athletic Association)
19. Austin Karius - WIng (Capilano RFC)
20. Gavin McLean - Centre (Comox Kickers RFC)
21. Joe Erlic - Centre (Castaway Wanderers RFC)
22. Sebastian Gibson - Centre (Abbotsford RFC)
23. Nathan Yanagiya* - Centre (Capilano RFC / UVic Vikes)
24. Titus Le - Back Three (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
