The Vanier Towhees are off to the 2015 BC High School Girls Rugby Provincial 7s Championship, taking place April 17-18 in Victoria and Langford.
Pool matches at the 16-team event take place on Friday at UVic's Wallace Field and Centinnial Stadium with the finals on Saturday. The bronze medal game at 1:!5 p.m. and gold medal game at 4:15 p.m. will be at Westhills Stadium in Langford during the intermission of the fourth round of the 2014-15 World Rugby Women's 7s Series.
The Towhees, one of five Vancouver Island teams at the provincials, are in Pool B along with Smithers, Earl Marriot and Hugh McRoberts.
Vanier opens Friday at 11 a.m. against Smithers then plays Hugh McRoberts at 12:30 p.m. and Earl Marriot at 2:20 p.m.
"We are currently ranked #3 going in, but it is close among the top four or five teams," said Vanier coach Dwayne Mills.
"My main concern is fatigue after our tour to California as the girls have been going steady for a couple of weeks and they are in need of a break.
"We also have a couple of injuries to key players on the team, so it is really going to test our depth. I am hopeful that our captains will be able to elevate the team and we will be able to dig into our physical and emotional reserves and put forward a strong showing," Mills said.
"Any time you have players the calibre of Madi Gold, Lauren Sargent and Georgia Bellamy on the field, then anything can happen."
LINE OUTS BC Rugby notes Friday's games from the stadium will be streamed live on bcrugby.com/live … the Towhees finished third at last year's tournament at UBC, defeating Robert Bateman 20-7 in the consolation final ...