Tristan Villiers from Valleyfield and Thomas Burton from Ormstown joined forces allowing Quebec to beat Newfoundland in the finals at the Canadian U18 Sevens Rugby Championship.
In the last minute of the final match, Burton kicked the ball. Villiers ran like the wind to hang on to it. The Valleyfielder then kicked the ball himself to avoid a penalty, and then took it back to score a try. With converting the two points that he added, Villiers allowed Québec to take the lead 14-12 and eventually win the final.
Although he is only 15, Villiers played extremely well. He counted three tries on top of being put in as starter for some of the matches including the final.
Burton played with skill in defence and made intelligent decisions at critical moments.
Hope identified
Captain of the provincial team at the Rugby 15 Championships last summer, Villiers is making his way in national rugby.
At the beginning of the month, Villiers participated at the RBC Training Ground in Toronto. Expectations for Canadian rugby were closely examined by members of the Canadian Sports Institute. Even though he was among the youngest athletes at the camp, he performed well.
In order to improve his speed, Villiers trained at McGill University. Last October, he ran 30 m in 3.87 seconds. A performance that caused Dennis Barrette, head coach in athletics, to remark, « He definitely has a good engine. »
Villiers can count on financial support from Mécamobile. If other sponsors are interested in supporting him, he can be contacted through his mother Sophie Goudreau by email at [email protected].
(Translated by Cathleen Johnston)
