Bears stage late rally to ground LVR Bombers
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Mount Boucherie Bears of Kelowna scored a late try to edge the L.V. Rogers Bombers 12-7 in High School Rugby action Thursday afternoon at the Lakeside Pitch in Nelson.
Trailing 7-5 with five minutes remaining, the Okanagan squad put together a final push that resulted in the winning score.
“It’s disappointing for sure,” said Bomber sideline coach Michael Joyce.
Joyce said the Bombers had trouble with the finer points of their game, mistakes that allowed the Bears to score early and late in the contest.
“We had trouble today with details of the game,” he explained. “Some serious lapses in decision making and nerves, for sure.”
The Bombers, playing in front of a wall of LVR supporters that filled the home sideline, surrendered the first try of the game when Boucherie pushed the ball down the left flank to open the scoring.
Trailing 5-0 at halftime, LVR put together a converted try to take the lead.
However, a lead the Bombers could not hold.
“Defensive lapses and a key missed tackle cost us the game today,” Joyce lamented.
Despite the setback, the season has been a very successful campaign for the Bombers.
LVR is 6-2 on the season, with two losses coming against South Kamloops and Mount Boucherie. One of the wins came south of the 49th parallel where LVR hammered North Idaho 95-5.
The Bombers travel to Red Deer for a tournament before concluding the season at home May 13 at Lakeside.
LVR continues to build for the BC High School Rugby Championships in Abbotsford May 27-30.
“We definitely have worked to do but we are strong in our league and then have time to prepare for provincials,” Joyce said.
