The BC Bears won the Shield Final over Team Germany 21-7 to finish 12th in the tournament. Perhaps not the ranking they were expecting going into the tournament but as their tournament description states, “This programs goal is to provide a competition pathway for BC players to gain experience and showcase themselves towards National team selections.”
The Vancouver Island Thunder defeated the Okanagan Coos in the semi-final and then the host Westshore in the final. Westshore had defeated the Marlins, winners of the Kelowna 7s, in the other semi in extra time. The tournament MVP would have to be Grady Bowd, he’s an exceptional talent.
Canada’s support play this match was a lot better, they didn’t leave as many players stranded but their scrum was under pressure for most of the match.
The BC Rugby season is just over 3 weeks away and we’ll take a look at some key dates and changes. The BCRU haven’t filled in their fixtures page yet so always check there for any last minute changes.
In the wake of the Canada U20 loss to Zimbabwe we dove a little deeper into the play and analyzed the first Zimbabwe try. The conclusion is that it came down to winning the one on one battle at the breakdown, coupled with some chaos in the defence.
A disappointing performance by Canada as a well drilled Zimbabwe U20 squad ran out to a 20-7 halftime lead and then weathered a Canadian comeback to close the game with two late tries and claim the win.
Live streaming of matches has been an issue in BC Rugby leagues, particularly the BC Premier which should be setting the standard as the top amateur rugby competition in North America. The problems in implementing live streaming in a consistent manner across the BC Premier have been cost and manpower. The industry standard cost for live streaming a match is $500. That includes providing the camera(s), computer, internet access, mics/mixers and technical expertise. The club still has to provide commentators if they want play by play on the match, which is essential in providing a quality live stream. The alternative is to provide an in-house solution operated by technically astute volunteers, experience has shown this is not going to happen on a consistent basis.
from John de Goede
Registration is now OPEN!
We have opened registration for the 2022-23 season with packages available for all ages and genders.
BC dominated at the Canada Summer Games Rugby 7s winning the Gold medal final 38-0 over Quebec. In the Bronze match Ontario defeated Nova Scotia 20-15.
from Chris Robinson
[ed. article with photos can be viewed here.]
The Celebration of Life for Bucky Ellison will be held at the Capilano Rugby Club on Saturday August 13, 2022 at 1:00pm. Please pass the date and time on to all those who knew Bucky. Dress for the event is “Summer Casual”. Speeches will be made from the main field with all the guests in the grandstands. We hope to see a large turnout of Capilano members to pay tribute to a Capilano Legend.