The Port Alberni Black Sheep Rugby Club have had a rough start to the BC Rugby season, falling 38-35 to the Westshore Wolves in their home opener.
Despite opening the scoring on Saturday, Sept. 21, the Black Sheep found themselves on the wrong side of a "back and forth" game, said head coach Jas Purewal.
"In the first 10 minutes, we played extremely well," said Purewal. "We came right out of the gates with a try by Gavin Purewal, converted by Ty Shannon. It looked promising, then all of a sudden Westshore was back in it."
The Black Sheep had the "slight edge" in play in the first half, said Purewal.
"We controlled the ball a lot more, but anytime we made a mistake they capitalized on it," he said.
In the second half, the Black Sheep opened the scoring again. But then the home team took two yellow cards, which meant they were playing much of the second half shorthanded. Both teams scored back and forth, but Westshore managed to score a "cheeky" try with a long kick to pull ahead towards the end of the game.
"We had some good opportunities in the last few minutes, but we were unsuccessful in putting the game away," said Purewal.
Overall, Purewal said he was happy with his team's performance. Other scorers for the sheep last Saturday were Ty Shannon, Maxx Bodaly (two tries) and David Johnson.
"The guys played some really good rugby," said Purewal. "We didn't handle kickoffs very well, and we missed the ball a lot. There was not as much continuity in the second half, and that took the pressure off Westshore."
Purewal says the future looks good for the Black Sheep, with a number of new players coming out to the pitch. Players like Tennison Paddison, Ryann Tramer and Aaron Turner played their first games for the Black Sheep, while others like Randy Atleo and Pex Leweni returned after a bit of an absence.
"There are lots of things we could clean up pretty quickly," said Purewal. "The home games are really important, but unfortunately it didn't work out for us this time."
The Sheep were scheduled to host the Castaway Wanderers on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. Their next home game won't take place until Saturday, Oct. 19, when they host the University of Victoria Vikes. The Port Alberni Black Sheep Rugby Club is located at the top of Argyle Street.
