RugbyWa Latest - Budd Bay Wins

Things are a little clearer in the Rugby Washington boys league after it's becoming clear two teams are struggling with numbers.

(Note - this article contains a significant correction, as Rugby Washington had mis-reported a score between Chuckanut and Seattle as a Seattle victory, when in fact it was a Chuckanut victory. At GRR, we don't have a massive staff to independently corroborate every score a league reports. If they get it wrong, we're often going to get it wrong as a result. We have fixed the score, and the standings, and the copy to reflect the new and more accurate information.)

Bot Eastside and Seattle forfeited games, and those forfeits are, apparently, due to play availability, especially around Easter. Even the teams that played were affected by player availability. Chuckanut's two best players are with the HS All American team, and that's meant for a rough couple of weeks for the Bellingham-area team. On Saturday, Chuckanut was defeated 50-12 by the visiting Budd Bay.

This dropped Chuckanut to 2-3 while Budd Bay improved to 3-2. The game was tight early, with Budd Bay leading 7-5 at halftime - the Barbarians' lead thanks to a try from Ivan Pula. In the second half, Budd Bay exploded. Pula scored two more to get three for the day, while Jacob Pati capped off a hard-working day with two tries. Donovan Tuiaana, Mason Simeta, and Anthony Leiato also touched down, while Nathan Mathis kicked six out of eight conversions.

Mathis and Pula shared player of the game honors.

Meanwhile, Liberty and Rainier took forfeit wins and are in good shape to finish in the top two in the league. With Eastside and Seattle struggling, the chase for the final two playoff spots will be between Tacoma, Budd Bay, and Chuckanut. At 2-3 Chuckanut is in trouble, but not out of it and May 13's clash with Tacoma could be a crucial one. Tacoma ends their league season with games against Budd Bay, Liberty, and Chuckanut, which won't be easy.