Despite high hopes for their revenge game with the Point Grey Thunder, injuries got the best of the Whistler Wolves and the rugby squad fell short in its semifinal match on Saturday in Langley.
"Injuries took their toll. It was close until about 20 minutes to go and then it got away from us," said president Blake Stewart ,in an email. "Thirteen players are meant to be on the field, and we played the last 10 minutes with 11. But the players showed real grit as we had three players pull out in the warm-up before kickoff. Hopefully we can have a shot against them next year."
The final score in the game was 46-20.
In the other semifinal match, the Valley Warriors delivered a stunning 42-0 upset over the top-ranked Vancouver Valley Vipers to book their ticket to next week's grand finals against Point Grey.
While no more league matches are on the schedule for the Wolves, the team's season isn't over yet. After and end-of-season awards night, there is an Eastern Canada versus Western Canada match being played in Abbotsford on Sept. 4, which Stewart hopes will have a few representatives from the Wolves. From that game, a Canadian team is picked to play against the U.S. in Tampa Bay in November.
"So still a lot to look forward to," said Stewart.
Stewart served as the coach for the Western Canada team the last time the game was played before the pandemic.
