The Martlet

The men’s rugby team hosted the Cowichan Piggies in a must-win match on Wallace Field, Saturday, Nov. 8.

UVic crushed their visitors by a score of 36-0, despite over half the team starting line up either away on national duty or sidelined by injury, and enduring the pressures of qualifying for the Barnard Cup.

The Vikes’ roster featured a number of new faces in a squad that has been reorganized on a weekly basis. Holding strong in the back line and consistently producing points in recent weeks, however, is Gordie Sawers. The UVic veteran leads both his team and the Vancouver Island Rugby Union Leauge (VIRU) in try-scoring.

At just six feet and 190 lbs, Sawers’ size doesn’t do him any favours against some of the toughest opposition in Canada. His speed, however, has seen him climb to the top of the VIRU week-eight standings with six tries in seven matches.

UVic coach Doug Tate says Sawers’ acceleration is a big factor in the amount of tries he’s scored.

“Gordie is probably the fastest player in the VIRU right now,” said Tate.

Having played football and rugby through high school in North Shore, Vancouver, Sawers’ point scoring has always been noted by his coaches. After picking up the game in the eighth grade, Sawers was selected for both the U-18 B.C. Selects and the U-21 Selects in 2005.

After his high school rugby coach referred him to Tate, Sawers found himself playing with a number of nationally renowned players. The decision to come to UVic was simple, he said.

“I knew rugby was pretty big at UVic,” said Sawers. “If you wanted to play good rugby and get better to eventually play at national levels, it was the place you needed to be.”

Fast forward three years and Sawers is now one of the key players in the UVic line up. Tate says that with his national players away, Sawers has continued to perform and grow as a player.

“He has been very consistent,” said Tate. “He has really improved his decision making and defensive abilities. His offensive ability has always been there, but I think he is becoming a more complete player.”

The young player attributes much of his try-scoring to his teammates, however, as he says the calibre of his team allows for him to continue scoring.

“A lot of those tries are on top of the hard work of guys around me,” Sawers said. “I sort of just finish [the plays] off.”

With the VIRU regular season coming to a close, UVic’s primary objective is qualifying for the Barnard Cup on Dec. 6 to prove they are the best on the Island. With the Castaway Wanderers hot on the Vikes’ heels, UVic will rely on Sawers to continue his scoring ways.

The chances of making the finals are high, says Sawers, as the team has really come together despite the injuries and missing players.

“Since all of those guys have left for the national squad, there’s a lot of players that have really stepped up,” Sawers said. “We also have some size in the forwards this year — against teams on the Island, that’s usually where we’re lacking a little bit.”

The Vikes’ next match will see them face off against undefeated James Bay on Saturday, Nov. 22, as they attempt to come away with enough points to qualify for the December championship.