The Vancouver Highlanders have added Karl Hunger to their roster. Hunger had been signed by Dallas Jackals of the MLR but didn’t get any playing time this season, subsequently he’s returned to Canada and signed with the Highlanders. The Highlanders also announced the signing of Relmu Wilson-Valdes of UBC.
There were a number of Canadian match official appointments made this summer by World Rugby. Talal Chaudhry was selected for Rugby 7s at the Olympics, he’ll be working in the women’s tournament. Robin Kaluzniak will be Assistant Referee in two test matches this summer, USA vs Romania and USA vs Scotland. Chris Assmus will be the TMO at the USA vs Scotland match.
There were 24 Canada-eligible players in action in Week 10, 14 starting and 10 in reserves. New England remains top in the East and Houston in the West.
The Canadian men’s 7s team have lost 25 games in a row, they’ve finished last in all events except one. They’re entering the repechage tournament in Madrid in 19 days, it’s an 8 team tournament with the top 4 teams remaining in the series next season. We already know Canada are in a pool with USA and the remaining two teams in their pool will be chosen from the top four group of the Challenger series, currently Uruguay, Kenya, Chile and Germany. There’s one more Challenger tournament this coming weekend in Germany to decide the final Challenger rankings.
The starting front row scored all of Canada’s tries in a display of forwards power. The win puts Canada at 2-0 on the series and guarantees them a place in the WXV1 they are hosting later this year.
World Rugby has announced details of further trials on the 20 minute red card, it will include competitions Canada are involved with this summer including WXV, U20 Trophy and Pacific Nations Cup. A player receiving a red card will have to sit out the match and then receive a two or four week ban, depending on severity, his team however will be able to replace him in the match after 20 minutes.
A big crowd and an excellent pitch at Burnaby Lake were the setting for the last championship game of a long day, the men’s premier final. The Ravens came out strongly, dominating the first 10 minutes, and staking themselves to a 10-0 lead. The try was a product of continuous possession and pressure with forwards, Crowell, Locke, Kaijaks and Konrad carrying and making ground. Lock Donald Carson then moved the ball towards the posts where from a ruck Joe Locke’s strong angled run off the ball put him through the would-be tacklers for the try under the posts.
The last update we did on the Highlanders was April 22nd and a few things have happened since then, probably the most significant was the release of the schedule with a venue mentioned, Burnaby Lake Rugby Club. Early betting money was on Klahanie, the Capilano grounds, being the hosting site but the first three match days have been announced as Burnaby Lake Rugby Club. Next item of interest will be ticket prices and any event info peripheral to the rugby matches themselves. The first date is a double header, Canada Selects and Barbados on Friday, June 28th.
There were 23 Canada-eligible players in action in Week 10, 11 starting and 12 in reserves. Houston remains in top spot in the West and New England retain top spot in the East.
It was the final weekend of club rugby in coastal BC with the BC Premier wrapping up as well as seven other divisions. The finals event is hosted at the Burnaby Rugby Club. In Premier it was the top two teams throughout the season, Meraloma and UBCOB Ravens, meeting in the final. The Lomas won the first matchup 34-15 in October, the Ravens won the return match 36-10 in February, both winning at home. The Ravens however claimed the title with a 25-17 win in the final.