VIRU MINI RUGBY DRAWS 250 FOR FINAL EVENT

 

(ISN) — The Vancouver Island Rugby Union Mini Rugby program recently wrapped up another successful season enjoying a brilliant day of rugby at the University of Victoria fields.

Taking part in the day’s events were more than 250 young rugby players from North and South Island clubs including the  Castaway Wanderers, Cowichan RFC, Nanaimo RFC and the Velox Valhallians. – BC Rugby News

CROW TO LEAD U20s TO MOSCOW

Andrew Crow of Victoria has been selected to captain Canada’s National U20 team at the World Championships in Russia in May.

Crow currently leads his McGill University club but has his club rugby roots in Victoria at Cadtaway Wanderers.

In all, 11 players from Vancouver Island will be flying to Moscow in May to represent Canada at rugby’s Junior World Trophy.

Selected to the Canadian U20 men’s rugby team were:

Forwards:
Brett Beukeboom (Lindsay RFC/UVic Vikes/Lindsay, ON)
Andrew Crow – Captain (Castaway Wanderers/Victoria, BC)
Casey Cavers (Cowichan RFC/Ladysmith, BC)
Scott McLeod (Duncan,BC)
Liam Murray (Capilanos RFC/UVic Vikes)

Backs:
Conor Braid (James Bay AA/Victoria, BC)
Pat Fraser (Cowichan RFC/Cowichan, BC)
Tye Hamblin (Cowichan RFC/Cowichan, BC)
Beau Parker (UVic Vikes/Victoria, BC)
Keaton Styles (UVic Vikes, Surrey, BC)

Also joining them are Kyle Armstrong of the Ajax Wanderers/Whitby, ON, the youngest player to be carded by Rugby Canada, and one of the quickest guys playing rugby in Canada.

The decisions came following a final weekend camp on Vancouver Island, that saw intense workouts, physical testing and unit work that culminated the four previous camps.

For Coach Tim Murdy, the 2010 edition of the team has seen a progression since the new age category was created in 2008 to replace the U21 and U19 age grade world championships.

“I have been seeing progression with the program and the athletes and what we are trying to achieve,” said Murdy – who is at the helm of his third U20 team. “We have a very balanced team with good forwards, our tight five and back row are very good, and we have play makers in the 9 through 12 area – plus some great speed on the outside.”

While the team experienced relegation after a tough 2009 Junior World Championships in Japan, Murdy says the JWT is probably a better place for his team to participate in terms of competition structure.

“There is no question the Junior World Cup is a higher competition, but even at the Junior World Trophy has a fine line between success and failure. Our ultimate goal is to win the tournament,” he said.

There will be one more preparation camp on Vancouver Island prior to the team’s departure in May – so Murdy says there will be a lot of pressure on the players to really bear down and get the hard work done in terms of conditioning and extra skill work.

“Players definitely need to get stuck in now in the next month,” says Murdy. “working on their own in the weight room, at the track and on the field.

“There is no question rugby in Canada is held hostage by our vast geography,” he continued. “Our specialist positions will have to do extra work as well, from kicking to fielding and all those extra things players need to pay attention to in order to succeed.

Canada opens the tournament on May 18th against Moscow. Then Canada will play the hosts Russia on May 22nd, followed by Japan on May 26th. From there play-off games for final placement take place.

Junior World Trophy – May 18th – 30th, 2010

Pool A
Italy
Papua New Guinea
Romania
Uruguay

Pool B
Canada
Japan
Russia
Zimbabwe

 

TWO FROM ISLAND ON U17 NATIONAL RUGBY TEAM

Two Island rugby players have been selected  to the Canada National U17 team that will take part in the Wellington College tournament in the UK over the Easter holidays in late March and early April.

Selected from B.C. were Aden Jack who plays for Oak Bay  and the Castaway Wanderers, and Patrick Kay from Cowichan Secondary School and the Cowichan Piggies.

Jack has recently overcome a leg fracture on his path to selection.

An extensive series of camps, a tour to the USA and a domestic tour were used to select the final group of athletes that will participate at the Wellington event, that replaces the Millfield Tournament that Canada had previously attended on an annual basis.

Canada will play three games at Wellington College event against Portugal, Italy and Scotland

The U17 team will depart for Wales on March 26th to have a one-week preparation camp, and then will move on to Wellington College located 50 kms south west of London.

“The process for this final selection has been some of the most detailed ever for this team,” said Head Coach Jim Delaney.

“We started the selection process back in August of 2009 at Nationals and at Canada games and 65 athletes from all over Canada were chosen to trail in November by the Canada U17 staff.

“Input was also received from the provincial unions and academies. The process then included two week-long events – Santa Barbara and the recent BC tour where the athletes had an opportunity to showcase their talents.”

The tour of California saw an initial tour party of 28 players play a two game series against the United States High School All-Americans (U18s).

“The BC tour was an opportunity to invite provincial coaches to attend and work with the athletes and see first hand the techniques and how elite rugby is managed at this age group and it was another opportunity to talk to coaches from around the province to get their input on the process and the initiatives we have implemented this year.”

PIGGIES ROASTED IN SHOOTOUT

By Andrew Smith

The UVic Vikes men’s rugby team marked their return to Premier League action with a convincing 78-32 win over the Cowichan Piggies on Saturday afternoon.

The win was the Vikes’ 12th straight against their Island rivals as they produced their highest offensive output since downing the Piggies 98-34 in 2006. In just two Premier League games this season, the Vikes have notched a total of 131 points.

The Vikes ran in 12 tries on the day but it was their winger Nick Lubbe who stole the spotlight with a four-try performance.

Canadian sevens rookie Keaton Styles opened the scoring with less than two minutes on the clock before UVic tries came courtesy of David Spicer, Phil Mack, Andrew Tiedemann and Lubbe.

Cowichan responded with four tries in the second half but their come back fell flat as Lubbe punched in three final tries to round out the scoring in the final minutes of play.

“We got off to a good start and then we started moving the ball wide,” Lubbe said. “We let them back in it in the second half but we managed to keep getting it wide and scoring tries.”

The Vikes will look to extend their 2-0 Premier League record when they head to the mainland next weekend to face off against ’09 Ceili Cup Challenge finalists Vancouver Rowers.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:45pm at Brockton oval on Saturday, February 27th.

Scoring Summary
First Half: UVic Vikes 45, Cowichan Piggies 10
Final: UVic Vikes 78, Cowichan Piggies 32

UVic Vikes Scoring (78)
Tries: Nick Lubbe x4, David Spicer x2, Phil Mack x2, Keaton Styles, Drew Langer, Andrew Tiedemann, Cam Pierce
Conversions: David Spicer x5, Nathan Hirayama x4
Penalties: none

Cowichan Piggies Scoring (32)
Tries: John Dubiel, Andrew Wood, Adam Shouten, Jake Robinson, S. Williams
Conversions: Andrew Wood x2
Penalties: Andrew Wood

HIGH-OCTANE OFFENCE RETURNS TO WALLACE FIELD

By Andrew Smith

Hot off a 72-7 rout of Arizona State to wrap up their Southern US Tour, the UVic Vikes men’s rugby team returns to Wallace Field to resume their Premier League campaign against the Cowichan Piggies.

GAME INFORMATION
Sat. Feb. 20 vs. Cowichan Piggies (Wallace Field) – 2:45pm

SCOUTING THE VIKES
The Vikes torched their university opponents in the desert and swept their two game series against the no. 3 Utah Utes and Arizona State by a combined total of 115-29 points. Their 2010 campaign has seen them notch four straight wins averaging 54.5 points per game including their 53-32 Premier League opener over the Bayside Sharks.

Captain Dave Spicer leads the point haul with 48 while Ben Grant and rookie winger Keenan Horton lead the squad in try scoring with five apiece. Boasting their strongest pack in recent memory, over a third of the Vikes tries have been punched in by the forwards.

SCOUTING THE PIGGIES
A new look Cowichan side took their season opener 22-13 over Burnaby and last week battled for a full 80 minutes against 2009 Island Champs James Bay in a 35-20 loss.

The VIRU Elite Division wooden spoon holders certainly have something to prove and nine new faces have reinforced their roster. The Piggies boast two Canada U20 players in Pat Fraser and Ty Hamblin and Kyle Beach has bolstered the lineup with his return from Burnaby.

HEAD TO HEAD
Cowichan have not beaten the Vikes in their last 11 meetings. The Vikes narrowly came away with a 33-23 win in the ’09 Elite Division’s opener before downing the Piggies 69-31 in late October.

JBAA LAUNCHES 114TH SEASON WITH CLEAN SWEEP

 

 

By Phil Meyer
BC Rugby News

Premier JBAA 36 – Cowichan 20

Under a cold wind that the Cypress Olympic sliders would have envied, the James Bay Athletic Association Bays opened their 114th British Columbia home campaign Saturday at MacDonald Park.

Fittingly, the opponent was an old foe – the Piggies from Cowichan.

This year’s Piggies are a well drilled team. They play sideline to sideline, tackle well, and take care of the ball in contact. But on this afternoon, despite playing hard for a full 80 minutes, and scoring 20 points, they could not get quite close enough to the Bays for a victory.

JBAA is still growing their team for this 2010 season – branding a new player or two with our “play for each other” code – building focus and intensity – improving week to week.

This Saturday, Neil Meechan entered the side, and with Big E and Jeff Williams away in Los Wages, Callum Morrison stepped in at lock, and Connor Braid played at stand-off.

The Bays struck early: on a 50 meter burst from fullback Danny Harlow (Braid converting); an equally long run by Braid himself to score in the left corner; and a 25-metre sprint through the middle of the Piggie D by Jason Marshall (convert by Braid). Bays 19 – Piggies 0: 18 minutes gone.

The Piggies didn’t quit – and as the slicing wind seemed to intrude on Bays’ minds and fingers, Cowichan clawed back, with a penalty by Wood just after mid-half, and a try from Kehoe (Wood with the convert) four minutes later.

At 32 minutes, it was the Bays’ turn – Braid cutting up-field, then passing to Ben Johnson, who blasted the last 10 meters to the goal. Braid’s third conversion left the halftime score JBAA 26 – Cowichan 10.

In the second half, the teams traded unconverted trys: Callum Morrison and Nolan Miles for the Bays – Geach and Petrovich for Piggies. Final score: JBAA 36 – Cowichan 20.

On this coolish day, the play, for periods of time, was ragged. But the building blocks for a successful season were evident on both sides.

Comprehensive around-the-field play by the Piggies, with Ian Manly cleaning ball from several scrums as they were propelled backward toward the Piggie line by JBAA’s Blue Crush.

The Bays’ back line of Jake de Goede, Johnson and Meechan tackling and hawking ball sideline to sideline – Braid looking good at #10 – Harlow playing solidly at fullback.

Next week, the Bays continue their team building work at MacDonald Park – resuming their 100 Years’ War against Castaway Wanderers, narrowly defeated yesterday by Velox.

 

 

Div 1: JBAA 62 – Cowichan Piggies 0

In the Division 1 contest, an improved JBAA D allowed the Piggies no points, as the Bays rolled over an undermanned Cowichan squad for 62 points, and their second win of the new season.

Emerging prop Dustin Luther and back rower Dan Hrycyk each scored two trys – while Jim de Goede, Rob Robson, Mitch Gudgeon, Danny Basson, Sands Falk and Rob Waddell notched singles. Kyle Laberge kicked six converts.

 

CW U17 WIN ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

CW 17 – Cowichan Piggies 0

The young lads from the Castaway Wanderers U17 travelled over the frosty hump last weekend into the dreaded Pig Pen on a cold, sunny and windy day
still smarting from their last two defeats at the hands of the Cowichan RFC Piggies and Comox and from having home field taken away from them in a tie break at the last moment.

The boys in blue and red knew they had something to prove, and prove it they did.

Game time was pushed back by half an hour as the Cowichan faithful hopped onto the tractor and resurfaced the field which had been left a treacherous mess of frozen, jagged boot prints and the local livestock was herded off the field.

Only in Cowichan can so much fun be had before the game even starts!

When kick-off finally rolled around the CW boys were pumped up and ready for action.

Choosing to give away the wind advantage in the first half they settled down for what was expected to be a long half on the defensive foot.

With a large contingent of faithful parents cheering from the sidelines everyone was thrilled to see CW on the front foot for the entire half pushing Cowichan incessantly.

Led by strategic kicking, powerful scrums from the front row and a

devastating front jumper in the lineouts, CW battered at the Cowichan defense until it finally broke late in the half, when the try line was crossed.

The conversion was slotted nicely, despite the gusting wind. The pressure was maintained and half time saw CW in the lead 7-0 with the wind advantage yet to come.

The second half brought more of the same with the CW taking advantage of the Cowichan back three, gaining valuable yards play after play. The CW backs were a wall on defense, putting immense pressure on the Cowichan inside backs and turning over the ball on numerous occasions.

The pack, not to be outdone by the backs, continued to dominate the set pieces and late in the game from one of their lineouts drove the ball some 20 meters in a fantastic maul which resulted in try #2. The convert made the scoreline 14 – 0 to CW.

The offensive onslaught continued with CW playing a pattern that proved near impossible to stop, (at least within the rules of the game), with the scrum half directing play like a general and the forward pack running off of 9 and 10 in devastating waves and the speedy outside backs punching through the line over and over again.

With not much time left, the CW pressure was too much and a penalty was awarded in front of the posts. With calm and poise not yet seen by these lads, Cowichan was made to pay and the game was all but sealed with a score of 17-0.

The last few minutes of the game saw a rush of energy and enthusiasm by some of the younger players substituted and all players deserve honorable mention for a level of play that has not yet been seen by this team. It was on the whole, a perfectly executed game by a team that has never looked stronger or more focused.

Players and parents are to be thanked for an incredible amount of work this season, noteworthy of what dediaction and commitment can accomplish. At the final whistle, the sun shone! — http://cw.rugby-portal.com/rfw/matchReport/index/1/match/28

CW TAKES ON BC MAINLAND RUGBY CHAMPS SUNDAY

Castaway Wanderers’ U17 team will be on their Windsor Park home turf at 12:30 on Sunday to play the BC Mainland Champs, Bayside Sharks from Surrey, and decide who will be U17 BC Champions.

Last weekend, the CW lads won the Island Championships against the Cowichan RFC Piggies in a 17-0 shut-out on Cowichan’s frozen home pitch.

COWICHAN WINS PROVINCIAL U18 WOMEN

By John James

Cowichan RFC 22 vs United RFC 5 (U18 Women)

It was a great game.

United RFC led by their tremendous #8 and physical pack, were up 5-0 at the half.

Cowichan came back in the second half with 22 unanswered points to take their second BC Championship in three years in this division.

Cowichan was led by #13 Cassey Stevens who scored three trys. United’s #8 and Cowichan’s #13 Stevens were named Game MVPs.

VELOX OVERUN PIGGIES 32-17

By Clancy McDonnell

Cowichan Visited Gordon Head on Saturday.  The women played first, Cowichan forfeited the 1st Division game, and the Prems closed out the day.

Prems: Velox 32 – Cowichan 17

The game was a spirited affair with both teams scoring a few tries.  Velox was first on the board, and pulled away from Cowichan through the first 50 or 60 minutes before the visitors chipped away at the lead, although they never got too close.

Velox had several key performers in the backs.  Clay Panga saw a lot of ball in the midfield, both on phase ball and in broken play.

Cowichan didn’t want to tackle him and he repeatedly ran through several players, once making a mazy 40-metre run that ended with him crashing over the line out wide.

His inside-centre Josh Blucher did well, running strongly onto the ball, making a couple of breaks, and dishing a couple of sensible off-loads as well.

Dan White kicked a fair bit, communicated pretty well, and ran a couple of times, although the Cowichan defence was better here and generally had his measure.

Pita Savea was involved, fielding a couple of kicks and receiving a couple of balls out wide, though perhaps not with as much space as he would’ve liked.

Oli Scott played at full-back for some time.  He seems to have a formula when representing the top team: field a few kicks safely, drop one backwards but recover it well, have a sniff at gaps with purpose, and make a couple of timely last line of defence tackles when attackers seem to have time and options.

While the Velox backs had the upper hand over their opponents, Cowichan was more competitive in the forwards.

The scrum was varied.

At times Cowichan got a shove on, notably very early on and once or twice towards the end.  However Velox applied some clever pressure themselves, lead from the front by Travis Robertson, with Cowichan unable to hold one side or the other firm a few times.

Velox was again able to rely on the lineout, with Joe Sheldon continuing his decent form.  He showed up in the loose a couple of times as well, as expected of a hooker.

Eric Lopatinsky was his normal self, astutely calling the line-out and lowering his frame in contact.  It remains to be seen how serious his shoulder injury, suffered mid-way through the second half, will prove to be.

He has been scheduled to get an opportunity with the BC Bears against Russia next week.

In general play the breakdown was a bit messy, as the ball was consistently turned over.  At times Velox players perhaps ran a little too far from their support, but equally the support was sometimes a bit light on as people expected a couple of bodies to do the job.

In contact the ball carriers probably didn’t fight hard enough to place the ball back out of harm’s way.

Counter-rucking was well employed in some situations, although at times one felt that players were being allowed in from the side.  The situation as a whole serves as a reminder to both teams that rucks don’t win themselves.

What else . . . a standout player for Cowichan was Robin MacDowell, playing fullback.  He cleverly put a grubber kick-through out wide for a winger to score, and ran towards the gap well several times.

The Piggies fly half had a strong kicking game, turning the Velox forwards around several times and finding touch a couple of times.

John Lyall muscled his way onto the field for the final quarter.  Several of Dan White’s kicks went high and gave opportunity for any of a number of people to take them on the full, but more than a couple of times the ball was let bounce by members of both teams.

Velox got several youngsters in for the latter part of the second half, notably Tua Va’a and Luke Baker, both of whom did well and probably learned a bit about the potential pace of the game.

Manager Jon Hume commended the Velox pack for rectifying the scrum after the first two went backwards.  He also liked scrum-half John Ogilvy’s game, suggesting that his “two well placed kicks from the base show that he’s gaining confidence.”

Women: Valkyries 0 – Cowichan 24

This game was a tough one for Velox, missing a few players to tour and a few to illness.

There was a lot of forward play for Velox, as they willingly took the ball up.

Irene Borecky took three scrums against the head in a strong performance that guaranteed Velox would get their chances with the ball in hand.

Alas, the backs weren’t super effective against the visitors though.

The Piglettes fielded an exceptional fullback who was fast and scored three of their four tries.  Despite missing players, the Valkyries were happy to introduce some younger players to their set-up, all of whom did well.

The Valkyries have a week off and will then rally for a big game against UVIC on the 28th.

3rds: Velox 34 – Powell River 14

Powell River made the trip down on Sunday, only to watch Paul Eby put on a tight-five running exhibition on Sunday.

Several times he spotted gaps and darted through them, then looking for support he was able to fool defenders.  Lunk ought to view the game tape.

The Leduc contingent showed good form, both of them out-pacing opponents several times.  The Langford combatants were in fine form, Messrs Dark and

Pickup playing with their usual mixture of decent technique and pluckiness.
Juniors

The U15s continued their strong form, with a solid victory over Port Alberni.

The U17s didn’t fare so well, going down to a stronger James Bay team.

The U19s lost a close one to the Bays, going down 19-22.

Coming Up

The Valhallians close out the first half of their season at Windsor Park against a motivated Castaways team, while the Beavers play the Norseman at home, looking for a spot in the 1st Division Playoffs.

Saturday night sees the club host a Barn Dance.  Put on your best shit-kickers. http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=196915907655&ref=ts

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