The cup, which goes to the champion of the Island Premiership in rugby, has been contested since 1911. James Bay Athletic Association won it for the 56th time, but first since 2013, with an 18-10 home-field victory against the Castaway Wanderers in the 2016 final held over the weekend at Macdonald Park.
Both sides featured rosters that included Canadian national team and World Cup veterans, such as Phil Mack, Sean White and Pat Parfrey of James Bay and Ray Barkwill, Nanyak Dala and Doug Wooldridge of CW.
鈥淭his is the oldest rivalry on the Island and it doesn鈥檛 take much to get fired up for a James Bay-CW matchup,鈥� said James Bay鈥檚 Mack, a career national team standout in both XVs and sevens.
The field conditions were tricky and treacherous on a wet weekend but James Bay knew the field best in scoring 13 unanswered points to rally from a 10-5 deficit.
The Bays鈥� comeback was keyed by a late first-half try by White, on a pass from Mack, and two second-half penalty goals by former UVic Vikes soccer goaltender Eliot Mitrou. The other JBAA try came from Ben Johnson while Keaton Styles scored the lone CW try.
鈥淲e used home-field advantage well by playing territorially and playing smart,鈥� said Mack.
It was CW鈥檚 third consecutive loss in the championship game. The UVic Vikes swept to their 11th and 12th Barnard Cup championships by defeating CW back-to-back 24-5 and 35-17 in the 2015 and 2014 finals.
James Bay last won the crown with a 26-23 win over UVic in the 2013 final.
The Island teams now prepare for the start of the sa国际传媒 Premier season in January.
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