The Claremont Spartans will take the good over the bad from being ranked 15th going into the AAA high school boys provincial rugby championships.

The first-round draw is a convenient one geographically, as the Spartans will play Saturday morning at Brentwood College. But facing the Oak Bay Barbarians, ranked second in B.C., is the challenge.

B次元官网网址淚 guess weB次元官网网址檒l take facing (No. 2) Oak Bay over (No. 1) Shawnigan,B次元官网网址� said Phil Ohl. The Claremont teacher canB次元官网网址檛 help but watch from an armB次元官网网址檚 length, in support of Saanich teachers having agreed to scale back extracurricular volunteer work to protest Bill 22.

Ohl has reconstructed the Spartans senior boys rugby program in recent years, including organizing the Spartan Scrumfest, which has become the IslandB次元官网网址檚 biggest annual high school rugby tournament.

Among the many parents and community coaches whoB次元官网网址檝e stepped up across the province is Nelson Lah with the Spartans.

Raised on a South Pacific style of game in Singapore, Lah, whose son Nolen is a Grade 11 player with the Spartans, said he couldnB次元官网网址檛 stand by and let anything jeopardize the time already committed to the team.

B次元官网网址淟ast year the junior team (made up of Grade 10s) won the city championship including beating (Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 junior team) twice,B次元官网网址� Lah said.

The Spartans have strengthened their squad by facing top clubs Shawnigan Lake, Brentwood College, Cowichan secondary, Oak Bay High and St. Michaels University School, even if most losses were one sided.

It showed in the final game of the school leagueB次元官网网址檚 regular season, said Lah, with a huge 20-19 win over the Reynolds Rogues, netting the Spartans a berth in the provincials.

In their previous meeting, the Barbarians defeated the Spartans 38-0.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not looking past (Claremont) at all, itB次元官网网址檚 one game at a time for us,B次元官网网址� said Barbarians coach Murray Allen.

B次元官网网址淐laremont are one of the bright lights this year, growing tremendously in the Tier 1 division with St. Michaels, (Oak Bay) and Glenlyon Norfolk School.B次元官网网址�

Howard Russell Cup

Kimia Hamidi led the Oak Bay Barbarians to a 25-22 win over St. Michaels in the cityB次元官网网址檚 AAA final, the Howard Russell Cup, last week. Hamidi kicked two of three try conversions and two penalties, including the winning kick in the final minutes of the game.

B次元官网网址淪t. Michaels was much improved from and we expect a similar improvement from Claremont on Saturday,B次元官网网址� Allen said.

Colonel Hodgkins Cup

The Glenlyon Norfolk School Gryphons won its third consecutive AA city championship over the Esquimalt Dockers, the .

Kicking off at 11 a.m. at Brentwood on Saturday are AAA teams Oak Bay versus Claremont, and AA teams Glenlyon (No. 4 seed) versus Ladysmith (No. 12), followed by another AA matchup, Esquimalt (No. 15) versus Brentwood College (No. 2) at 12:30 p.m.

Senior provincial wrap

The Velox Valkyries recently won the provincial championship trophy for premier womenB次元官网网址檚 rugby, the Gordon Harris Memorial Cup, defeating Burnaby Lake 20-14.

VeloxB次元官网网址檚 win was one of four B.C. Rugby Union finals played at Klahanie Park in North Vancouver on May 12.

Capilano upset first-place James Bay in the premier menB次元官网网址檚 Rounsefell Cup final, 22-21, while the Castaway Wanderers edged Meraloma 24-16 in the menB次元官网网址檚 CeiliB次元官网网址檚 Cup league (Div. 1) final.

Kamloops Raiders beat the Velox Valhallians 38-29 in the menB次元官网网址檚 Provincewide Third Division final.