NANAIMO — The Hornets rugby program is preparing for a pair of BC semifinals on home field.
On Saturday, April 26, the Division 2 women and Division 1 men will play their final matches at Pioneer Park.
Club president Brad Marshall said it’s an extremely rare feat.
“I’m pretty excited. It’s the first time I can remember a time when we’ve had both semis. It’s a great place to be playing in front of our home crowd with both teams trying to be the best in BC.”
Both Hornets squads had lopsided wins in their quarter finals on April 12.
The men won 46-13 against Port Alberni while the women took out Simon Fraser 61-15.
It will be back-to-back island rivals for the men as they host James Bay out of Victoria in the semis.
“James Bay has always been a dominant team on the island,” Marshall said. “We played them in the third game of the season and managed to secure a win down there. We played them three weeks ago and managed to win at home as well, so James Bay is really going to be gunning for this victory.”
Marshall said the women won their only other matchup this season with semi final opponent Chilliwack.
“We got the victory, but knockout rugby is a different kind of pressure level. Sometimes that can force you into mistakes, especially with a big crowd out this weekend.”
The rugby finals for all the men’s and women’s levels are in the Fraser Valley on May 3.
“The games will be in Abbotsford at the same grounds,” Marshall said. “So for the women, for example, they could potentially play Comox and both teams would have to travel from the island to play in that game.”
Hornets’ semifinal games will begin with the women at 11:15 a.m. and then the men at 12:45 p.m. on April 26.
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