Longtime rivals Oak Bay and St. Michaels University School battle for the boot tonight.
“This game is always big on our schedule as these two programs (Oak Bay and SMUS) have consistently produced good teams that are well matched,” says Peter Atkinson, one of the Oak Bay coaches. “The games have been going on for over 20 years and right now the overall record is 11 wins each and one year we tied.”
SMUS and the Barbarians face off for the 24th Rees Boot Game at the University of Victoria’s Wallace Field.
“More than 10 players that have played in these games have gone on to represent Canada at the senior level,” Atkinson says. “This year’s game is no different, two solid teams each with strong players. the outcome is not certain, we are hopeful but SMUS is always full of surprises.”
Kickoff is Tuesday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. to see who will keep the bronzed trophy of Gareth Rees’ boot for the next year.
Rees played for St. Mikes in the 1980s and went on to become Canada’s greatest fly half, and holds the Canadian record for test points with 487. Many of the points came off his boots, of which a pair was bronzed and is played for each year between St. Mikes and the Barbs.
cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com
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