Pacific Pride Win McKechnie Cup for 2nd Time in Cup’s 127 Year History; Abbotsford Claim Girls U18 Title
The Pacific Pride defeated the Island Crimson Tide 54-25 to win the McKechnie Cup for the 2nd time in the cup’s 127 year history. The Pride won it the for first time in 2002, a few years before the program was cancelled in 2005. The Pacific Pride program was reintroduced again in 2019.
In the U20 Dunbar Keg it was the South Island defeating the North Island 41-28.
In the BC U18 girls final Abbotsford was dominant in a 68-12 win over Cowichan.
Saturday
North Island Tsunami U20 28 vs South Island Tide U20 41
U20 Photo Gallery by Chris Wilson
Vancouver Island Crimson Tide 25 vs Pacific Pride 54
Sunday
Cowichan U18 Girls 12 vs Abbotsford U18 Girls 68
*McKechnie Cup Decider Pacific Pride vs Island Crimson Tide, North Island U20 v South Island U20 and U18 Girls Provincial Club Final: ROSTERS ADDED*
There are three games to close out 2022, the McKechnie Cup decider between the Pacific Pride and the Vancouver Island Crimson Tide. The Dunbar Keg U20 match between the North Island Tsunami and the South Island Tide. Also the Provincial U18 girls club final in Cowichan between Cowichan and Abbotsford.
Here are the rosters that were published. Some good matchups in the Crimson Tide vs Pacific Pride match, at outside centre, Kainoa Lloyd for Tide vs Ciaran Breen for Pride. At #10 Grady Bowd for Tide vs Max Stewart for Pride. At openside flanker Callum Botchar for Tide vs Cody Nhanala for Pride. At #8 Siaki Vikilani for Tide vs Elias Hancock for Pride.
Vancouver Island Tide
1 Andrew MacPherson – JBAA
2 Jace Peters – CW
3 Nathan Groenewold – Westshore
4 Jon Humpphries – CW
5 Mike Finnemore – CW
6 Taitusi Vikilani – Westshore
7 Callum Botchar – JBAA
8 Siaki Vikilani – Westshore
9 Crosby Stewart – JBAA
10 Gradyn Bowd – CW
11 Henry Do – JBAA
12 Isaac Gonevou – JBAA
13 Kainoa Lloyd – JBAA
14 Liam Clark – Westshore
15 Craig Mitchell-Herman – JBAA
16 Antonio Corbin – CW
17 Jake Slobodian – JBAA
18 Jack Sponarski – CW
19 Andrew Montgrand – JBAA
20 Makz Foot – Westshore
21 Matt Weir – Westshore
22 Mitch Sora – JBAA
23 Samuela Nakuna – Nanaimo
Pacific Pride
1 Willem Den Ouden
2 Dan Cooper
3 Kyle Steeves
4 Reid Davis
5 Karl Hunger
6 Tyler Wong Zephyr Melnyk
7 Cody Nhanala
8 Elias Hancock
9 Sam Reimer
10 Max Stewart
11 AJ Kosempel
12 Noah Flesch
13 Ciaran Breen
14 James Thiel
15 Oliver Mackenzie
16. Tyler Wong
17. Tyler Matchem
18. Sam Miller
19. Alastair Bruce
20. Matt Klimchuk
21. Zech Pilgrim
22. Taylor Desouza
23. Ben Russell
North Island Tsunami U20
1 Alipate Yagomate
2 Liam Bolton
3 Harry Seymour
4 Jamieson Stewart
5 Jaiden John
6 Lauchlan Kapuscinski
7 Jake Lumely-Holmes
8 Hanno Fourie
9 Noe Tsang
10 Justin Taylor
11 Monty Hopkins
12 Dylan Cleaver
13 Joesef Paradis
14 Treymane Thorne
15 Kaelin David
16 Cody Steeves
17 Dennis Fagan
18 Sione Fine
19 Duncan Richardson
20 Solomon Yeung
21 Emmanuel Gucela
22 Thoran Koyote
23 TBD
South Island Tide U20
1 Logan Lawrence
2 Alex McCallum
3 Brent Hamburg
4 Logan Dring
5 Alexander Gordan
6 Wyatt Pilz
7 Witt Nevins
8 Mitch Young
9 Brady White
10 Marshal Stove
11 Alec Kemp
12 Kai Khan
13 Liam Poulton
14 Hayden Wright
15 Jackson Graf
16 Clayton Miller
17 Bradley Robson
18 Charles Taimani
19 Connor Arthur
20 Hugh Mager
21 Mitch Buie
22 Edan Lewis
23 Tanner Milligan
More on the McKechnie Cup in this article.
Saturday
North Island Tsunami 28 vs South Island Tide 41
4pm at Starlight Stadium
Vancouver Island Crimson Tide 25 vs Pacific Pride 54
6pm at Starlight Stadium
Sunday
Cowichan U18 Girls 12 vs Abbotsford U18 Girls 68
1pm at Cowichan Rugby Club
from Rugby Canada
Top talent from British Columbia and Vancouver Island, including Rugby Canadas Pacific Pride Academy Program, will play on December 10 at Starlight Stadium in Langford in McKechnie Cup and Dunbar Keg competition, supported by Onni. Admission to this Saturday rugby double-header is free, with gates opening at 3:00pm.
Returning for the first time since 2019, these regional competitions feature teams from British Columbia vying for the Senior Mens McKechnie Cup and the U20 Mens Dunbar Keg. The McKechnie Cup is one of the oldest contested rugby trophies in Canada, dating back to 1896.
Kick off for the U20 Mens match between the North Vancouver Island Tsunami and the South Vancouver Island Tide will be at 4:00pm. This will be followed by a 6:00pm Senior Mens match between the Pacific Pride and the South Vancouver Island Tide, marking the end of the 2022 fall season in BC.
Led by captain Cody Nhanala, the Pacific Pride roster includes standout players such as Kyle Steeves, Max Stewart, and Willem Denouden, along with players soon headed for the MLR such as Ciaran Breen, who signed with the Toronto Arrows in November.
Coaching the Pacific Pride is Phil Mack and coaching the South Vancouver Island Tide is Nanyak Dala, who played together for 10 years and represented Canada in both 15s and 7s, including a gold medal performance at the 2011 Pan American Games.
More information on the McKechnie Cup and Dunbar Keg can be found on bcrugby.com.