Rugby Union

The 2nd match of the tour versus Okanagan Valley U19s saw the Terriers determined to build on their good win over Alberta..
Starting well with a changed starting XV, the Terriers kicked off on a warm afternoon in Kelowna and waited only 2 minutes before their first score. From a kick ahead by scrum-half Matt Hargreaves, Okanagan fumbled the ball and from the resulting scrum, Jones took a short pass to burst through under the sticks. Greg Moore added the extras. A repeat of the same move a few minutes later saw the other centre, Tom Hebditch take the short pass to cross, again the conversion was added.
Okanagan managed to recover from their poor start, making big tackles, disrupting Terriers play and helping the play flow from end to end. Something special was needed to break the deadlock and re-establish pressure - after 20 minutes, Greg Moore took the ball on the halfway, made a break down the left before offloading inside to the supporting Matt Terrett who cruised in from the 22. It was fitting that Moore added the conversion, taking the score to 21-0.
Terriers then continued to probe for the killing score, which came on the stroke of half-time. A turn over from a ruck saw the tourists quickly send the ball to Terret who finished the simple move and score his 4th try of the tour. Moore was unable to add a difficult conversion.

Yorkshire Terriers started the 2nd half in the same fashion as they started the first. Two minutes after the interval, the forward made territory down the left and Ben Innes was the benefactor from a pick and go on the hosts line. Moore added an excellent conversion to make it 33-0. Okanagan, like Alberta before them, refused to give up and a dropped Terriers ball saw the home side race downfield with a try seeming certain before a last ditch tackle halted the momentum.
With players understandably tiring in the heat, the visitors made several substitions that proved to take the game well and truly out of reach. As play approached the final quarter, a short pass taken by Harry Duthie, on for Steven Slingsby at full-back, and he raced through the defence from half-way, breaking several tackles en route to the tryline. Moore continued his good form from the kicking tee to add the extras
The Terriers forwards were completely on top and three quick tries came in 4 minutes. The first from a scrum on the half-way where a blind-side break saw Terrett make yards and then give an inside pass to Tom Perkins to score. Two minutes later, another turnover saw good inter-play between backs and forwards, leading to a try for Matt Abbott. Greg Moore reliable as ever added both conversions.
Almost straight from the kick-off, Ryan Burrows broke through the Okanagan line. Steve Slingsby, returning to the pitch due to an injury, picked an excellent support line and took the offload to score. Moore added his 8th conversion of the game to make it 61-0 to the visitors.
As the final whistle loomed, it was only fitting that Harry Duthie used his pace from 15 top score the final try. Although Moore, for once, failed to knock the ball over to add the 2 points.
This 66-0 victory gave the Terriers good heart for the next fixture, expected to the toughest of the entire tour, versus Crimson Tide on Vancouver Island.

Footnote: Mark Perkins forehead cut was not the result of the match but was inflicted by a 5 yr old girl in the bookstore prior to the game. Mark lost the battle for the last copy of the latest Harry Potter novel. He is recovering well although his pride has taken a huge dent....