The 琉璃神社 Secondary School Owls rugby team is looking forward to a return to provincials this season.

One of the better rugby programs in the Okanagan, the Owls have rarely missed the provincials, and placed second in the 2018 tier two championships with a narrow loss to Abbotsford鈥檚 W.J. Mouat Secondary 35-31.

Owls coach Dave Marfleet said the team is hungry to improve from last years placing.

鈥淭he challenge will be to stay focused and to peak at provincials,鈥� said Marfleet.

鈥淲e have dedicated Grade 12s who understand how the program works, and a lot of strength coming from the Grade 11s who are hungry and excited about playing senior rugby.鈥�

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After a few early crossover games with teams in the Lower Mainland, the Owls have moved up in the provincial rankings into tier one, and rank fourth in the province.

The Owls won 12-7 over Robert Bateman Secondary at the end of March, and narrowly lost to the number one ranked South Delta squad 17-7 on April 5.

鈥淐rossover games helped with our rankings,鈥� said Marfleet.

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It鈥檚 clear Owls are a little ahead of the curve against other Okanagan schools, after beating OKM by over 60 points in the Okanagan league鈥檚 first game.

Marfleet said that it will still be important to stay focused through the season, even against less challenging teams, in order to outperform the higher ranked schools at provincials.

The Owls will look to ensure the team peaks at provincials which starts at the end of May.

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