BC Premier Weekend Results: Lakers Edge Caps, Ravens Clip Vikes, CW Defeat Lomas, Pride Dominate Westshore, Rowers Paddle Bays
[ed. correction Lomas beat Rowers in Week 1, changes made below]
All the men’s BC Premier matches are at 2:30pm Saturday, the full BCRU schedule is here. The women’s CanWest 7s Round 2 is also on this weekend at UVic, the schedule is here. The Toronto Arrows host LA Giltinis Friday evening at Starlight Stadium.
Burnaby Lake 21 v Capilano 19
Referee: Bradley Schwalger
Referee 2: Brett Hay
Venue: Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
We said a 3 point win and it’s a 2 point win, not bad on the predictions with a 5 for 5 on the wins. We look forward to Mike Devlin’s report. The result puts both Burnaby and Capilano at 1-1.
PREGAME
Caps had a bye in Week 1 and took down the Pacific Pride in a week 2 home game. There are some changes to their roster, Neil Courtney and Jesse Ryan move prop positions with Ryan now at tighthead. James Ritzema replaces Jason de Freitas as starting hooker. Liam Doll moves from blindside to second row. Cori Hamill comes off the bench to start at blindside. The halfback combination remains the same with Chris Robinson and Jeremy Simon. A big absence is Johnny Franklin at outside centre, Eligh Papin takes his spot. Mike Moloney moves from fullback to inside centre and Haward Mulundi gets his first start on the wing. Johnny Adams comes off the bench to start at fullback.
Burnaby lost their Week 1 match on the road to CW and had a bye in Week 2. This is their first home game. The major change comes in the loose forwards with James Catterson moving from #8 to openside and David Dinbandhu getting the start at #8. We’ve always been a fan of Dinbandhu, he has that Fijian flair and now that he’s added a few pounds he’s moving from the backline to #8. He’ll be going up against veteran Glenn McKinnon for the Caps. That will be a battle worth watching. Talking of veterans and Fijian flair, Jeke Gotegote is on the bench, he’ll make an impact coming on.
This should be a great game to watch, two evenly matched squads and a fierce rivalry. I think Burnaby at home, wounded by their loss in Week 1, will come out with a top performance. Prediction: Burnaby by 3.
Caps – Coach Rameses Langston
1 Neil Courtney
2 James Ritzema
3 Jesse Ryan
4 Reid Tucker
5 Liam Doll
6 Cori Hamill
7 Jordan Harvey (C)
8 Glen McKinnon
9 Chris Robinson
10 Jeremy Simon
11 Sam Franklin
12 Mike Moloney
13 Eligh Papin
14 Haward Mulundi
15 Johnny Adams
Burnaby – Coach Aaron OFlaherty
1 Lalit Bhardawaj
2 Dylan Vermette
3 Nik Hildebrand
4 Cooper Johnston
5 Michael Gough
6 Fuku Vikilani
7 James Catterson
8 David Dinbandhu
9 Lee Sandberg
10 Ethan Turner
11 Kou Odaka
12 Neil Maclaine ©
13 Sean McKeown
14 Jack Gelbart
15 Brian Fitzpatrick
16 Preston Petrovitch
17 Darog Smith
18 Jeke Gotegote
19 Cole McQueen
20 Andrew Porter
21 Ezekiel Rosetti
22 Nolan Shelley
23 Blake Steele
UBCOB Ravens 33 v University Of Victoria 31
Referee: Saro Turner
Referee 2: Toby Mustill
Venue: Jericho Beach Park
We called Ravens by 5 and the unofficial result we received was 33-31 a 2 point win by the Ravens. We look forward to Peter MacDonald’s report on the match which sounds like a barn burner. Ravens go top of the table at 3-0, UVic go 0-2 having faced two of the top teams in the first three weeks.
PREGAME
The Ravens are coming off two wins but are missing some firepower for their Week 3 game. Missing are Brian Moylett at #8 and Colby Mason at #13. There were some murmurs about Ravens exceeding their import quota so not sure if that’s a factor or just rotating players. It’s a new front row with Guido Suez keeping his tighthead spot. James Carson comes off the bench to claim a starting second row spot. It’s a new set of loose forwards with Bluck, Meek and Mitchell. O’Donaghue and Chan move to the reserves bench. Robbie Jones moves from #9 to #10 and Alex Ball comes in as scrum half. There’s a new centre pairing with Mason out, Pelletier and Hume. Aaron McLelland remains at fullback.
For the Vikes there’s a few changes, the front row remains the same, Asfand Saeed comes into the second row. Lucas Okano gets the start at openside flanker. The halfbacks remain the same but Brennig Prevost is brought in from wing to outside centre. The pairing of Lachlan Kratz and Prevost should be interesting. In the match against the Pacific Pride, Prevost shone with the space he had outside, Kratz struggled to make an impact, perhaps trying to do too much himself. With the two top players working together it could make a difference. James Thiel, the younger brother of Josh and Jacob, gets his first appearance with the Premier squad.
The Ravens at home will have to go in as favourites but missing Moylett and Mason will have an impact. They’ve moved some starters to the bench anticipating a strong second half from the Vikes. I would anticipate Ravens having the edge in the scrum and a lot depends on how the Kratz/Prevost pairing works in the battle of the midfield. Aaron McLelland, as always, will be a factor on the outside. Prediction: Ravens by 5.
Ravens – Coach Simon Fitzgerald
1 Samita Langa
2 Sean Pyle
3 Guido Suez
4 Trevor Helgason
5 James Carson
6 Matt Bluck
7 Blain Meek
8 Jack Mitchell
9 Alex Ball
10 Robbie Jones
11 David Thompson
12 Dan Pelletier
13 Tyler Hume
14 Mark Wandeto
15 Aaron McLelland
16 Antonio Corbin
17 Sawyer Barth
18 Matt Chan
19 David O’Donoghue
20 Jake Ikeda
21 Sean Hase
22 Nolan McAllister
UVic – Coach Scott Manning
1 Owen Kokan
2 Nathan Yue
3 Denver Fatt (C)
4 Asfand Saeed
5 Ayo Ogunlade
6 Henry Down
7 Lucas Okano
8 Nicholas Carson
9 Chris Gamage
10 Gabriel Casey
11 Shane Rikley-Krindle
12 Lachlan Kratz
13 Brennig Prevost
14 Ethan Hager
15 Andrew Easson
16 Max Hassel
17 Brendan Kim
18 Ryder Heaney-Corns
19 Merlin M’Cloud
20 Marcus Lott
21 Ethan Smith
22 James Thiel
23 Payton Gibson
Castaway Wanderers 47 v Meraloma 24
Referee: Julianne Zussman
Referee 2: Carter Haddow
Venue: Windsor Park
We thought CW by 7 and they put in a +23 performance at home. CW go 2-0 and are one of 3 undefeated teams in the league along with Ravens and UBC who had a bye week. Lomas are 1-2.
PREGAME
CW with a bye last week and a win in Week 1 against Burnaby. They’ve kept their roster fairly consistent, the one upgrade is Anton Ngongo coming in from the 7s program to start on the wing. Sawyer Herron gets the start at blindside with big Mike Finnemore taking the bench, Steve Pyke comes off the bench to start at openside. Alex Clark comes into the reserves hooker spot and James Mitchell and Angus Boyd-Porter get a spot on the Premier bench.
The Lomas are 1-1 with a narrow win over Rowers in Week 1 and competitive game against Ravens in Week 2. They’ve shifted about half their squad with only 6 players retaining their same position from last week. They’ve also added some new faces to the bench. Fanselow, Barnby, Coetsee and Viljoen move off the bench to starting roles. Farris, O’Brien, Evans are shifted to new positions. Dewi Williams comes into the side at outside centre. It looks like the coach is trying to find the right combination and get a good look at players while bringing in a few new faces. With the coach’s reputation I expect them to be improving in competitiveness each week.
CW at home go in as favourites with a wait and see on the Lomas progress. Prediction: CW by 7.
CW – Coach Ken Goodland
1. Gavin Kratz
2. John Braddock
3. Jack Sponarski
4. Liam Chisolm (c)
5. John Humphries
6. Sawyer Herron
7. Steve Pyke
8. Cam Sandison
9. Zech Pilgrim
10. Gradyn Bowd
11. Anton Ngongo
12. Brandon Schellenberger
13. Dan Griffiths
14. Mike Adibe
15. Jordan Tait
16. Alex Clark
17. Cam Smith
18. Dylon Montgomerry
19. Riley Ilnicki
20. Mike Finnemore
21. Harry Elliot
22. James Mitchell
23. Angus Boyd-Porter
Lomas – Coach Christiaan Esterhuizen
1. Pat Zuk
2. Scott McGinley
3. Reese Hemmens
4. Justin Fanselow
5. Gavin Hogan
6. Tim Barnby
7. Alex Carmel
8. Jalan Farris
9. Thomas Viljoen
10. Luke O’Brien
11. Quinten Coetsee
12. Steff Evans (c)
13. Dewi Williams
14. Ben Featherstone
15. Devon Singh-Parhar
16. Isaac Smith
17. Richard Barrett
18. James Harborne
19. Dave Matthews
20. George Woofenden
21. Paddy Kirwan
22. De Wet van Neekirk
23. James McTurk
Westshore 5 v Pacific Pride 64
Referee: Shanda Assmus
Referee 2: Al Humphries
Venue: Juan De Fuca
We said an “emphatic win” for Pride and it doesn’t get more emphatic than +59. We’ll have photos from the match which we’ll post later this weekend. Pride are 2-1 and Westshore 0-3.
PREGAME
Westshore are 0-2 and it doesn’t get easier this week. They’re missing their #8 Peyton Eagar and moving their inside centre Aidan Holland to that role. Leam Williams gets the start at hooker, Matt Weir moves from openside to blindside and and Thomas Heuser comes off the bench to start at openside. The big addition to the backs is Jarvis Dashkewytch at wing where he can hook up with Thomas Isherwood at fullback. Those two players can create excitement in open space, the question is how often will there be quick ball to the outside backs?
An improved roster for the Pride this week after their loss to Capilano last week. D’Shawn Bowen is back on the wing after his 2 try performance versus UVic in Week 1. Matt Oworu comes back into the side from the 7s program, a player with exciting potential at #8. In the front row Dan Cooper is moved from tighthead to hooker and Tyler Matchem gets the start at loosehead. Ethan Fryer comes back into the starting roster at openside flanker. The halfback pairing of Barker and Balaski returns from last week. New players Sean Snyman and Justin Taylor hope to impress when they come in from the reserves.
This should be an emphatic win for the Pride, they won’t like losing last week and they’re going up against a team that’s struggled in its first two matches. Prediction: Pride by 15.
Westshore – Coach Aaron Frisby
1 Nathan Groenewold
2 Matt Evans Leam Williams
3 Neil Hagerty
4 David Phillips
5 Makz Foot
6 Matt Weir
7 Thomas Heuser
8 Aiden Holland
9 Rylen Waugh
10 Aaron Hersant vc
11 Brennan Bourchier
12 Antony Fitch
13 Darrian Morrison
14 Jarvis Dashkewytch
15 Thomas Isherwood
Pride – Coach Phil Mack
1) Tyler Matchem
2) Dan Cooper
3) Kyle Steeves
4) Alastair Bruce
5) Tom Davidson(C)
6) Zephyr Melnyk
7) Ethan Fryer
8) Matt Oworu
9) Caleb Barker
10) Mark Balaski
11) Oliver Mackenzie
12) Dawson Fatoric
13) Taylor Desouza
14) D’Shawn Bowen
15) Brock Webster
16) Cody Nhanala
17) Aaron Clark
18) Callum Botchar
19) Zack Raymond
20) Justin Taylor
21) Sean Snymen
22) Max Stewart
23) Isaac Olson
James Bay AA 12 v Vancouver Rowing Club 31
Referee: Derek Horton
Referee 2: Michael Moss (Pending)
Venue: James Bay AA – MacDonald Park
We said Rowers by 2 but it was Rowers by +19. The teams’ playing forms are starting to show after 3 weeks. The Rowers at a respectable 2-1 and the Bays at 0-2. Next weekend is Family Day long weekend in BC and no Premier games are scheduled.
PREGAME
The Bays just have that Week 1 blowout loss to UBC so far as a comparison. They’ve added Noah Bain from the 7s program to their roster this week, that will help in the centres. Their tight five remain the same, Caleb Erichson is the new face at #6. Mike Waldock replaces Mitch Sora at #10. Thomas Burton comes in at fullback and Gio Douyon comes off the bench to replace Henry Do on the wing.
The Rowers have only made a few changes to the roster that defeated Westshore last week. Spencer Cooper moves from tighthead to loosehead with Eddy Quinn coming in at tighthead. Ray Bissonette returns to his Week 1 role at blindside, moving Ian Prendiville to openside. The rest of the team looks stable.
The Rowers have had two good outings while the Bays only have the one poor result so far, the Rowers have to go in as favourites based on that even though the home game should lift the Bays performance. Prediction: Rowers by 2.
JBAA – Coach Sean White
1. Dakota Lachance
2. Austin Creighton
3. Andrew Macpherson
4. Andrew Montgrand
5. Andrew Scott
6. Caleb Erichson
7. Wyatt Pilz
8. Alex Jordan (capt.)
9. Crosby Stewart
10. Mike Waldock
11. Gio Douyon
12. Isaac Gonevou
13. Noah Bain
14. Keith Graham
15. Thomas Burton
Rowers – Coach Duncan James
1. Spencer Cooper
2. Jason Carton
3. Eddy Quinn
4. Felix Grignon
5. Michael Cooke
6. Ray Bissonette
7. Ian Prendiville
8. Scyler David Dumas (C)
9. Dermot O Meara
10. Nick Wackwitz
11. Mitch Stainer
12. Tom O’Hare
13. Ryan Williams
14. Tom Rowland
15. Jordan Wilson-Ross
16. Jake Schwartz
17. Josh Waller
18. Greg Crowe
19. George Richmond
20. Tom Brennon
21. Harvey Rowland
22. Morgan Brinson
23. Cyril Bugden