It was a shutout win for the Terrace Northmen rugby team who defeated the PG Gnats 29-0 at their final home game of the season last week.
“It was a physically intense game, lots of big tackles and good defence displayed by both sides,” said the Northmen’s Adam Linteris of the July 11 match.
The game started out extremely close with the Northmen only scoring once in the first half and starting the second half with a slim 5-0 lead.
As the game wore on, the speed and conditioning of the Terrace back line took over scoring four tries in the final half and leading them to victory.
Conor Watson, Jonathon Doane, Mike Meijer, Werner Pienaar, and Tyson Stoochnoff all scored tries in the game with the Northmen captain Walker Main converting two of the tries.
After the match, the Gnats awarded their opponents Craig Dunfield as the best forward Northmen and Werner Pienaar as the best back line player.
This was Terrace’s second time battling the Gnats this season after they lost 19-17 while on the road last May. But the team says they have worked hard to improve their game for the rematch.
“We kicked a lot more than we usually do, which allowed our backs to take advantage of their speed and wear the PG side down,” said Linteris.
“It’s something we have worked on quite a bit since our first game with them and it really paid off.”
It was a tough game that saw a lot of penalties on both sides, Linteris noted.
The Northmen defence was solid throughout the game and shut down any scoring chances the Gnats had.
The hard work to prepare for this game paid off as Terrace’s back line exposed any defensive openings in their opponents line-up resulting in the victory.
“The Terrace back line showed a lot of talent and athleticism with constant pressure and good ball movement,” Linteris said.
He says that, although the Northmen defence was solid and the tackling was for-the-most-part strong, the team still needs to work on consistency if they are going to make it to provincials.
It has been a good season for the Northmen who beat the William’s Lake Rustlers for the first time in years at a home game in May.
Now the Rustlers, who defeated PG in two games this season, are the only thing that stands between the Northmen and provincials.
“While we did really well in this game, we have some stuff to work on if we hope to go to Williams lake and beat them on their home turf,” said Linteris.
The winner of the final game on July 25 will go on to represent the north at the Saratoga provincial cup in September.