from Capilano RFC
Premier Men by Steve Feenstra
The contest between the T-Birds and Caps turned out to be a thriller that had a bit of everything. Hard hits, shifty side line running, bad tempers, a thirty- or forty-minute delay in the first half and a deluge in the second half. Something for everybody.
from World Rugby
World Rugby reiterates its condemnation of Russias aggressive invasion of Ukraine and the facilitation of this action by Belarus. The global rugby family is united in standing in solidarity with everyone affected by these deeply disturbing events and joins the global community in calling for the restoration of peace.
Austin still look the team to beat and this week they face a stern challenge as they travel to Seattle to play another undefeated side, the Seattle Seawolves. The result may give a hint as to who has edge in the race for the title this year.
Only 3 Premier matches this weekend with 2 on the Island. The Mainland game should be a good one, UBC host Capilano. Seattle come back into the schedule on March 12th, it will be interesting to see how they adjust the playoff picture with Seattle only playing 4 games, 2 home and 2 away.
There’s talk of an international U20 tournament to be held this summer in Ontario to coincide with the national U19 championship. It would involve Tier 2 teams like Canada, with perhaps Portugal, USA, Chile involved. Details when they become available.
We took a look at the Country of Origin/Eligibility for the weekly MLR All Star picks, called the First XV. We’ve seen, from Canada’s example, that selecting a national team from those who simply make the MLR isn’t sufficient to qualify for the World Cup. The MLR, currently, isn’t of high enough quality compared to other professional leagues in Europe and the southern hemisphere. Players have to consistently excel in the MLR to be competitive at the international level. Players who get regular game time in leagues like France’s Top 14 should be considered ahead in development.
from Premier Rugby Sevens
The 2022 Premier Rugby Sevens Championship will be bigger in nearly every sense. More games. More tournaments. More cities. And thats all going to require more players, the finding of whom falls on the shoulders of general manager Mike Tolkin.
After two weeks Austin Gilronis look to be the dominant team. The Giltinis won the title last year, is it the Gilronis turn this year? Both teams are owned by Australian business man Adam Gilchrist and his Loyals Rugby group. The formula seems the same, seed the team with top level Tier 1 players in key positions. Last year it was Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper leading Giltinis to the title. The Gilronis this week feature 5 South African, New Zealand, Australia players in the forwards and a halfback pairing of South Africa and Australia, add in an Argentinean on the wing and an Irishman in the centres to complete a dominant international roster. We’ll see how they do this week against last year’s semi-finalists Utah.
It’s a bye weekend for most leagues, including the men’s Premier but there are some make up matches. The feature one being the women’s Premier Capilano v Westshore.
from BCRU
Open ID sessions taking place at Westshore Rugby Club (Vancouver Island) and UBC (Vancouver)
Calling all boys born 2003-2004 come and attend one of two BC Bears U19 Open ID sessions happening this Saturday!