Phil Smith Launches 1st In Touch Newsletter of the 2026 High School Rugby Season
A sure sign of spring is Phil Smith’s In Touch rugby newsletter covering boys rugby on Vancouver Island. We encourage other educators/coaches to do similar for their regions, whether they be focused on boys or girls rugby or both. You can send your newsletter to editor@bcrugbynews.com
A few thoughts of my own reading Phil’s newsletter. Phil notes Quw’utsun (Cowichan) “has opted for sevens despite having a splendid 2025 XV season”. Indeed in 2025 they defeated Shawnigan Lake School in the regular season and were top ranked on Phil’s list at one point, apparently they’re going full out in XVs in the Juniors this year and doing 7s for the Seniors for one year. Another point, a reader sent me in the score for the Robert Bateman vs Shawnigan preseason match, won by Robert Bateman 22-17. Robert Bateman are touring to NZ and Australia this year, leaving next week. Also don’t count out Shawnigan, they lost to Quw’utsun last year in the regular season but ended up in the final, only losing to St. George’s. Looking forward to the upcoming high school rugby season.
