VICTORIA STOCKS BC BEARS

(ISN) — Victoria will provide nine of the 22 Canadian Direct Insurance British Columbia Bears players in the final match of the 2010 Canadian Rugby Championship season Saturday in Burlington, Ont.

They include captain Pat Riordan who is also from the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club, Cam Pierce, Sean Duke and Ryan Hamilton, UVIC Vikes RFC; Seamus Gay, Castaway Wanderers; Connor Braid, Mitch Gudgeon, Hugo Belanger and Sean White, James Bay Athletic Association.

After two losses the Bears will not have the opportunity to play for the National Championship.

However, a great deal of provincial pride will be on the line as British Columbia versus Ontario is a historic rivalry.

The young Cam Pierce of Vernon has showed well for the Bears this season and will start at the number 8 position. Seamus Gay will represent the Bears for the first time this CRC season and has been named as a starting flanker.

Another youngster and recent U20 international Adam Zaruba (Capilano RFC) is promoted from the reserves to claim the #4 jersey.

The 9 – 10 “Loma Connection” of Colin Brown and Eric Wilson will be at their creative best and provide sound leadership on the pitch along with Riordan.

Kick-off for the BC Bears versus Ontario Blues game  Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m. at Burlington Centaurs RFC in Ontario.

12 ISLANDERS WITH BC BEARS

The BC Bears have recruited 12 their 22-member squad from Vancouver Island to play in their first 2010 Canadian Rugby Championship fixture Saturday in Calgary against the Prairie Wolf Pack.

The CRC consists of The Rock (Atlantic Canada), the Prairie Wolf Pack, the Ontario Blues, and the 2009 Canadian Champions – the BC Bears.

Playing for the Canadian Direct Insurance British Columbia Bears are Cam Pierce, Sean Duke, Keaton Styles and Ryan Hamilton from the University of Victoria Vikes RFC; Ben Johnson, Tye de Goede, Sean White, Connor Braid, Hugo Belange, Dave Cameron, Mitch Gudgeon  and Callum Morrison  of the James Bay Athletic Association

EIGHT ISLANDERS IN BEARS VS KIWI MATCH

Eight Vancouver Islanders will be among the 23 BC Bears to take on the Royal New Zealand Navy side at 6 p.m. Friday at Klahanie Park in West Vancouver.  

Playing for the Bars will be Liam Murray, Cam Pierce, Casey Cavers and Jamie McKenzie, University of Victoria Vikes; Ben Johnson, Hugo Belanger and Dave Cameron, James Bay Athletic Association; and Seamus Gay, Castaway Wanderers RFC.    

Coach Mike James says this presents an excellent opportunity for individuals to earn their spot on the Bears team, which will take part in the 2010 Canadian Rugby Championship in August and September.

A representative side of the Royal New Zealand Navy (HMNZS Te Kaha) has sailed to Vancouver as part of the Canadian Navy’s Centennial.

HMNZS Te Kaha is one of two frigates serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
The name Te Kaha is Maori, meaning ‘fighting prowess’ or ‘strength’.

The Bears will look to counter the tourists’ prowess and strength when they kick off for an evening match.

8 ISLANDERS WITH BC Bears VS ENGLAND COUNTIES

(ISN)– Five players and three replacements from Vancouver Island will be on the BC Bears team for the game against RFU England Counties on Saturday in Vancouver.

BC Bears -  Starting XV versus RFU England Counties include:  Rob Down and Eric Lopatinsky, Velox RFC, Cam Pierce of the University of Victoria Vikes, Seamus Gay of the Castaway Wanderers RFC and  Callum Morrison, JBAA.

Replacements include Dave Cameron and Hugo Belanger, JBAA; and Jamie McKenzie, University of Victoria.

With the Churchill Cup and Sevens programs eliminating many players from selection, and with many Under 20 players involved in the National U20 Competition, the squad is a mixture of both youth and experience with Coach Mike James opting to give a number of players an opportunity to vie for places on the squad when it gets together in August for the CRC competition.

UBCOB Ravens lock Mike Burak will serve captain and is the lone International.

He is supported by five players who played for the Bears against Russia last season: Rhodri Hamner, Gay, Jake Hirst, Brock Nicholson and Taylor Dalziel are all named in the starting line-up.  

Dalziel, the UBC center, is one of five current or former Canada Under 20 players on the squad.

He is joined by McKenzie, Sevens returnee Connor Trainor and recent performers at the World Trophy in Russia – Kurtis Appeldorn and Adam Zaruba.

The Bears last game against Russia seems a distant memory but few will forget the impact of Vancouver Rowing Club’s Brock Nicholoson on the wing.

Nicholson will again be hoping to impress along with Pierce who made a big impression with the Provincial U18s in 2009 and had a great impact this season with the Canadian Direct Insurance League Provincial Champions, University of Victoria Vikes.

The North Shore will be represented well by both Zaruba and Brady Carpenter from Capilano, as well as Nicholson andBelanger, the James Bay flanker who learnt his trade at Windsor Secondary School.

Other players to watch will be former Blues scrum half Colin Brown and up-and-coming Velox lock Loatinski.

The team will practise together today at Klahanie and take on the Counties team that has won its opening two games of the Tour against the Rock and Blues on Saturday Afternoon.

At 1 p.m. there will be an U20 Men’s Vancouver Wave versus Vancouver Island Rising Tide fixture as a curtain raiser to the Bears game.

VIKES BEST IN BC, WIN ROUNSEFELL CUP

By Mike Tucker

The UVic Vikes men’s rugby team is 2010 Rounsefell Cup champions.

The Vikes earned the distinction of provincial champs by knocking off Meraloma 31-27 in Saturday’s title match at Wallace Field.

With 1,200 fans packing Wallace Field for the CDI BC Premier championship game, the Vikes failed to disappoint on home soil. Nate Hirayama accounted for 26 points and the Vikes toppled the defending champs, to win their first Rounsefell Cup since 2003.

 

 

“It was a fantastic win for the guys. I knew the team was good and they exceeded expectations,” said head coach Doug Tate. “After the first playoff win against Old Boys, I figured they could play against anyone and they showed it the last two weekends.”

Hirayama scored two tries, was 4-for-5 on penalty kicks, and made a pair of improbable converts from the far reaches of the field. His fourth penalty kick of the match, coming near the 50th minute, gave the Vikes their largest lead of the game at 31-13.

“Coming into the game we knew we had a good shot and we stuck to the game plan,” said Hirayama. “It shows the quality program that has been built over the year and hopefully this isn’t the last championship we win.”

Meraloma mounted some late pressure with a pair of tries, scored by Eric Wilson and Sam Jenkins, respectively. However, the Vikes defence bore down, and despite a Phil Mack try being waved off, held on for the win.

The Vikes miracle run to the final included playoff victories over the UBC-Old Boys and top-seeded James Bay, despite being depleted by injuries, national selections and summer work commitments. Classes at UVic had ended in early April, and exams were done by the end of the month.

“This has been one of the most resilient group of guys I’ve ever been with, said captain Dave Spicer. “We have some great young guys coming up and hopefully we can build off this and be in contention for the next couple of years.”

The Vikes have won the Rounsefell Cup three times, with victories also coming in 1971 and 2003. The Vikes also won Canadian University Championships the only two years the tournament was held in 1998 and 1999.

EPIC UPSET — VIKES OFF TO BC FINALS OVER JBAA

By Mike Tucker

(ISN) – The University of Victoria Vikes men’s rugby team has advanced to the BC Premier title match after downing top-seeded James Bay 36-32, in an upset for the ages at Macdonald Park.

The Vikes secured the semifinal win on Saturday with a run of 17 unanswered points in

the second half, which was capped off by a try from scrum half Phil Mack. Mack, formerly of the Bays, gave the Vikes their first lead of the game with just over 10 minutes remaining. UVic trailed 20-3 at one point in the opening frame.

“Of all the years I have coached, that was without question the gutsiest win,” said Vikes head coach Doug Tate. “It was unbelievable what we pulled off given the injuries and guys not being available. It was an amazing effort.”

The victory advances the short-staffed Vikes to next weekend’s Rounsfell Cup against Meralomas, which will be hosted at UVic’s Wallace Field on Saturday. It is the Vikes first appearance in the province’s title game since 2003.

Nathan Hirayama led the Vikes in scoring with three penalty kicks, three conversions and a drop goal. The drop goal, with about 10 minutes remaining, stood as the game’s winning points, and gave the Vikes just their second win at Macdonald Park in the past 12 tries.

“It doesn’t get any sweeter than this – winning at Macdonald Park, against James Bay as an underdog,” said Hirayama. “Even when we were down we still felt confident.”

Dave Moonlight gave James Bay a comfortable lead in the first half, with the former Vike going over three times in the span of eight minutes. The last of his three scores put the Bays out in front 20-3 with 10 minutes left in the half.

Vikes tries came courtesy of Nick Lubbe, Pat Riordan and Phil Mack.

Meralomas won the other semifinal 29-9 over Capilano, and will defend their BC Premier title against the Vikes. Meralomas won the Rousnfell Cup in 2009, and earlier this year held UVic without a try the only time this season in a 22-9 romp at Jericho Park.

The Vikes only Rounsfell Cup victory came in 2003, with a UVic victory over James Bay at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium.

IT’S VIKES VS JBAA BAYS FOR ISLAND DOMINANCE

By Andrew Smith

(ISN) — Only one Vancouver Island club will advance to the B.C. Premier League finals, and on Saturday the no. 4 UVic Vikes men’s rugby team will have to beat James Bay to punch their ticket to the dance.

SEMIFINALS INFORMATION
Sat. May 8 vs. James Bay (MacDonald Park) – 2:45p.m.

SCOUTING THE VIKES (8-3) (PLAYOFFS 1-0)
Last weekend’s quarterfinal win over the UBC Old Boys ended a seven year absence from the final four. And although they may be inexperienced in the playoffs, the Vikes are the only team to have solved James Bay this season.

The triumvirate of David Spicer, Pat Riordan and Nathan Hirayama marked their return to Premier League play last Saturday scoring a combined 30 points in the Vikes’ 38-19 victory.

Shouldering the squad’s kicking responsibilities, Hirayama notched three conversions and three penalties to record a game-high 15 points.

SCOUTING JAMES BAY (10-1)
Unlike their youthful rivals, the Bays are well tested in the postseason play. In pursuit of their fourth Rounsfell Cup in five years, James Bay led the league in offence (42.7 p/g) and defence (11.3 p/g) this season.

Matching the firepower the Vikes boast up front, the Bays work at the breakdown has seen them dominate CDI competition and prior to their recent loss, the Bays outscored their four previous opponents by 285 points.

The Blue Crush boasts a perfect record at home and with Dave Moonlight, Jeff Williams and Jason Marshall in their arsenal, the Bays grit will clash with the Vikes’ expansive style of play.

HEAD TO HEAD
Earlier this season the Vikes notched 38 points against their Island rivals, the most points James Bay has conceded in 23 matches. For the students, the upset marked their first CDI Premier League win over James Bay since April of 2006.

VIKES RETIRE UBC OLD BOYS FROM PLAYOFFS

 

 

By Andrew Smith

(ISN) — For the first time since 2003, the UVic Vikes men’s rugby team advanced past the opening round of the B.C. Premier League playoffs downing the UBCOB Ravens 38-19 Saturday.

Just a week after dropping the regular season’s final game 24-20 to the Ravens at Wallace Field, it was the Vikes who were in top form during the re-match running in four tries and kicking 18 points by the final whistle.

 

After a month-long layoff from injury, Canadian international Nathan Hirayama made his presence felt opening the scoring with a penalty kick before contributing a game-high 15 points.

 

The Ravens responded through their rucking and it was forward Tom McKeen who gave the Old Boys their only lead of the game with a well-deserved try ten minutes later.

UVic hooker Pat Riordan ran in the Vikes’ first try in the 19th minute and Hirayama converted for the 10-7 lead. For the remainder of the half it was one-way traffic as David Spicer barreled through four tacklers for another try. Hiryama’s conversion and penalty combined with a cheeky drop goal by Phil Mack had the Vikes up 23-7 at the break.

The second half was much of the same story as Pat Riordan recorded the brace and Sean Duke burned three tacklers down the wing for the Vikes final score. The Ravens pulled back two late tries but waited too long to stage their comeback.

“Last week we didn’t but the nail in the coffin,” Riordan said. “We were down in their end quite a bit and we didn’t really make them pay. But today every time we got down in their end we came away with at least three points.”

The no. 4 Vikes now head across town to face off against no.1 James Bay AA in next Saturday’s semifinal.

When the two sides met back on April 17, the Vikes handed the Vancouver Island champs their only loss of the season, downing their bitter rivals 38-25.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:45pm on May 8th at MacDonald Park.

 

 

Scoring Summary:
Half time: UVic Vikes 23, UBCOB Ravens 7
Final: UVic Vikes 38, UBCOB Ravens 19

UVic Vikes Scoring
Tries: Pat Riordan x2, David Spicer, Sean Duke
Conversions: Nathan Hirayama x3
Penalties: Nathan Hirayama x3
Drop Goals: Phil Mack

RUGBY PLAYOFF ACTION RETURNS TO WALLACE FIELD

By Andrew Smith

(ISN) – The Premier League postseason returns to Wallace Field for the first time since 2004 this weekend, when the no. 4 ranked UVic Vikes men’s rugby team squares off against the no. 5 UBCOB Ravens.

A win on Saturday could see the Vikes advance past the opening round for the first time since their 2003 championship run.

GAME INFORMATION
Sat. May 1st vs. UBCOB Ravens (Wallace Field) – 2:45p.m.

SCOUTING THE VIKES (8-3)
After lengthy layoffs from injury, Canadian internationals and Vikes leading scorers David Spicer and Nathan Hirayama will be back in the lineup.

The potential 9-through-12 combination of Phil Mack, Hirayama, Spicer and Ben Grant boast a combined total of 221 points. Spicer notched a team-high 90 points in eight games before he sustained an injury against the UBC Thunderbirds on April 1st.

For the forwards it’s been business as usual with Andrew Tiedemann (20 points), Ryan Hamilton (15 points) and Toby Peyton (10 points) filling out the front row.

The Vikes last qualified for the postseason in 2008 but were knocked out in the opening round by Oak Bay’s Castaway Wanderers 18-9 at Windsor Park.

SCOUTING THE RAVENS (7-4)
It’s been a long wait for the Old Boys who enter to the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

With their season hanging by a thread and facing a 10-point deficit in last weekend’s regular season finale, the Ravens staged a crucial comeback to edge the Vikes 24-20.

Boasting international experience and a ruthless forward pack, the Old Boys handed the students their first loss at home since Oct, 3, 2009. UVic alumnus and lineout specialist Tom McKeen caused a number of problems in the air but it was the late tries by Kol Henrikson and Warren De Bruin that produced the comeback.  

HEAD TO HEAD
The Ravens upset the Vikes last weekend in a narrow 24-20 victory, defeating the students at home for the first time since 2007.

The Vikes won their two previous matchups downing the Ravens 29-15 in 2008 before escaping Connaught Park last season with a narrow 22-15 victory.

VIKES LOSE BUT MAKE QUARTERFINALS

By Andrew Smith

(ISN) — With their playoff hopes on the line, the UBCOB Ravens rallied late in the final match of the 2010 Premier League season to down the no. 4 UVic Vikes men’s rugby team 24-20.

Across town, the Castaway Wanderers fell 17-16 to the no. 3 Capilanos and failed to secure enough points for a playoff appearance.

With CW out of the picture, the Vikes will have another shot at the Ravens in next week’s quarterfinal matchup to be hosted at Wallace Field.

Saturday’s contest opened with Vikes’ centre Ben Grant kicking a penalty for the early 3-0 lead. The Ravens pack responded through a series of powerful rucks to see the visitors dot down first when no. 8 David Payne put his side up 5-3.

In total, the lead changed hands five times and it was Vikes’ winger Willem Du Plessis who went over next to give the home side the advantage.

Former UVic lineout specialist Tom McKeen responded for the Ravens and after grinding out several phases gave his side the 10-8 lead heading into half time.

The scoring resumed after the break with Vikes’ scrum half Phil Mack chipping the defence to dive down for a try. With less than ten minutes to play, Du Plessis bolted down the wing shrugging off multiple tacklers to record the brace.

Ben Grant’s conversion gave the Vikes a 20-10 lead and with the clock wearing out, the Vikes were en route to posting an undefeated record at home this season.

But as they watched their playoff hopes vanish before them, a flame was lit under the Ravens offence who banded together for the most crucial comeback of their 2010 campaign.

Kol Henrikson led the charge barreling through for the visitors’ third try and combined with Ed Fairhurst’s conversion to cut the lead to three points.

With victory in sight, the Ravens recovered possession and drove the Vikes back towards their own try line allowing for Warren De Bruin to notch the final try.

A series of tough breaks, including Mack being held up on the try line, saw the Vikes final surge come up short.

“They hit us on the side of the rucks and beat us through our mistakes,” Du Plessis said after the match. “We’ve got to work on that for next week and come back and give it our all.”

The quarterfinal matchup between the no. 4 Vikes and no. 5 Ravens is scheduled for 2:45pm on Saturday, May 1 at Wallace Field.

Scoring Summary:
Half time: UBCOB Ravens 10, UVic Vikes 8
Final: UBCOB Ravens 24, UVic Vikes 20

JB Scoring
Tries: David Payne, Tom McKeen, Kol Henrikson, Warren De Bruin
Conversions: Ed Fairhurst x2

UVic Vikes Scoring
Tries: Willem Du Plessis x2, Phil Mack
Conversions: Ben Grant
Penalties: Ben Grant

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