Members of the Earl Marriott Mariners grade 12 rugby team represent Canada at the World High School Rugby Championships in Fukuoka, Japan with the team finishing higher in the world standings than any Canadian youth squad in history.

“The team represented Canada extremely well,” says coach Adam Roberts, who has led the team since 2006. “They won every single game in regulation play against the best teams in the world.”

Earl Marriott was selected by Canada’s governing body to represent the country based on their game performance over the past five years.

“The boys dug deep and won every game is such thrilling fashion,” says Roberts. “They won the second game of the regulation series in the final seconds of the game, and in the final game they played Nagasaki, an exceptionally strong team who had beaten us in the round robin play 54 – 17. In regulation play the boys took their game to a new level and ended up winning 32-29. It was an extremely proud moment for the coaching staff, parents and fans.”

The Earl Marriott team competed against top teams from a number of rugby powerhouse nations including New Zealand, England, South Africa, Australia, Japan, and Korea.