A dominating last ten minutes of the final game ended in heartbreak for the Shawnigan Iron Women as the Girls' 1st XV lost in the Provincial Championship for the second consecutive season, losing 3-0 to AA winners Heritage Park of Mission.

The first half of the game was a battle of attrition, fought in the middle of the field and featuring some stout defense and a number of handling errors by each side. It was evident that the enormity of the game was wearing on the players, but Shawnigan acquitted themselves admirably against a well-trained (and decidedly larger) Heritage Park side that had cruised through the tournament to that point.

When the half-time whistle blew, both teams huddled with their respective coaches to regroup, knowing they would enter the final thirty minutes of battle with everything to play for.
Heritage Park set the Iron Women on their back heel from the restart, and looked poised to score if not for some repeated heroic tackling by the Shawnigan squad. Eventually the Shawnigan defence faltered, and a Heritage Park penalty called in front of the goalposts resulted in the first points of the match and a 3-0 deficit for Shawnigan.

From the ensuing kickoff to the final whistle, the Shawnigan team played with a passion and determination that needed to be seen to be believed. Wave after wave of Shawnigan attackers took the ball into contact, recycled the ball and continued their onslaught. Time and again, the forwards would break through and inch the ball closer and closer to the line and the try that would seal the victory. For what seemed an eternity, the girls played with a resolve that would underscore their entire season.

In the end, it simply wasn't to be.

As the final whistle blew and the opponents celebrated, the emotions of the day could be read on the faces of all the black-and-gold clad combatants. A season's worth of blood, sweat and tears ended so tantalizingly close to a provincial title, yet so agonizingly far away from it all the same.

This loss will sting more than most, but just as time heals all wounds, the 2011 Shawnigan Iron Women will eventually look back on this year as one in which they exceeded expectations and a game in which they left absolutely everything on the pitch. They should be proud beyond words of their achievements and know that, in the eyes of their School, they are champions all the same.