Pacific Pride 46 – TWU 17
The Pride were in control from the opening whistle but TWU played with heart for 80 minutes and were rewarded with two late tries through their star winger, Tamilore Awonusi. He’d be a useful addition to the 7s long list if he was Canada eligible.
Kingsley Jones and Rugby Canada took the offensive on Tuesday, releasing a video that coincided with the roster announcment of the men’s team travelling to Europe.
While the Club leagues enter Week 3, the Coastal Cup enters Week 6 with 3 weekends left.
If anyone thought there would be decisive action taken after Rugby Canada failed to qualify for the World Cup, think again. Rugby Canada is operating as normal, some might say in a state of denial. We’ll cover this in more detail later in the week, including the video by Kingsley Jones where he basically says, “I plan on being here for the next four years”.
by Mike Devlin
BLRC 3rd Div Men 14 Richmond RFC 24
The BLRC entered the game with confidence but never adapted to the conditions and experienced Richmond squad they faced. A few greybeards on the Richmond side much better understood the wet conditions on the day and had a style of play for it. The inexperienced Blue & White side played right into their hands. Thats not to say that Richmond simply slogged out a forward battle, quite the contrary. Their #13 and #15 played highlight reel rugby all game, but with the space created by the Richmond forwards and the crafty Lance Davison at Fyhalf.
The aftermath of Canada’s loss to Chile and its early departure from World Cup qualifying continues to be felt.
UVic Vikes 36 – TWU 25
UVic booked their ticket to the Canadian University Championships in Kingston in November. They’ll represent BC along with UBC. We had predicted a +13 UVic win and weren’t far off. Tamilore Awonusi scored 2 tries from the wing for TWU and Matthew Willemse added another. UVic scored 5 tries but Vikes media haven’t posted a recap of the match yet to provide details.
Jack Hanratty has been given the reigns of the contentious senior women’s 7s program until the end of the calendar year. The program has been hitting the headlines recently but not in a positive way. First the players ousted their long time coach, John Tait, accusing him of harassment and bullying, charges he was later cleared of by an independent investigator. Then they tanked at the Olympics, finishing 9th, after being favoured to repeat their 2016 Bronze medal performance.
It’s week 2 of the BCRU club schedule. Here are some of the league leaders after Week 1.
by Mike Devlin
The Burnaby Lake Rugby Club & UVIC Rugby community lost a dear friend on Oct 6 2021 with the tragic passing of Steve Batie. Steve was originally from Ladysmith BC and started his rugby career there before moving onto the UVIC Vikes. He represented Canada at the 2003 U21 World Cup before moving his studies to BCIT and joining the BLRC. Steve donned the Blue & White for 14 seasons, winning provincial championships and representing the BC Bears on numerous occasions including their game vs Oxford at Brockton Oval and in the BCRU 100th anniversary South American tour where he started in games vs Buenos Aires and the historic BC victory over Uruguay in Montevideo.