BC Premier Week 11 Results: Burnaby Fall to Vikes, CW Pummelled by Ravens, Bays Edged by Westshore, UBC Dominate Caps; Women’s Premier Thunderbirds Grounded by CW, Burnaby Overcome by Seattle
Play resumes in the BC Premier after a harsh February that saw a number of game cancellations due to field closures. There are 4 men’s Premier and 2 women’s Premier matches on tap this weekend.
University Of Victoria 41 v Burnaby Lake 31 @ 14:00
Referee: CLINT LEMKUS AR1: Leighton Burridge AR2: Martin Thornton
Venue: U Of Victoria- Wallace Field
UVic with a solid +10 win at home. They go ahead of Burnaby in the standings and with a 1.9 points per match average are closing in on Capilano 2.0 points per match for the final playoff spot. Burnaby at 1.6 points per match drop to 9th place just ahead of the Bays at 1.1 points per match. Next week UVic host the Pacific Pride while Burnaby visit Capilano.
Kudos to the Vikes for consistency in providing a live stream. Their commentary team add another level of professionalism to their program.
Burnaby were ahead in this game at the half, 21-10. The Vikes won the second half 31-10. Burnaby were ahead 31-22 with 20 minutes left in the match and if the match were 60 minutes it would have been Burnaby’s day but fitness and speed in the last quarter was the difference. The Vikes went ahead for the first time with 10 minutes left, 34-31 and then added one more 3 minutes from full time, 41-31, to deny Burnaby a double bonus point in the loss.
PREGAME
#9 hosting #8. UVic haven’t actually played a league game since November 29th, their Feb 1st match vs Capilano was cancelled due to Klahanie field closures. They won that November 29th match against CW 20-14. Burnaby’s last match was Feb 1st, a 21-14 loss to JBAA on the road. Both teams will need a win to make up ground on Capilano who hold the last playoff spot right now.
UVic missing Morgan di Nardo who is in Cape Town with the Canada 7s team. Brighton Feldman the young tighthead prop who was at the Canada U20 camp last weekend is not in the roster. Lachlan Crooks comes off the bench to start at scrum half with Reece Thompson not in the roster.
Burnaby have an unchanged forward pack, Reid Watkins makes his return to scrum half. Kimi Vunituraga returns and starts on the wing with Ethan Turner away with the Canada 7s team. On the bench Lalit Bharadwaj makes his return to the roster in the front row.
It’s a bit of a toss up, Burnaby were upset by the last place Bays in their last match but the Bays had a strong lineup that weekend. The Vikes will miss di Nardo, their danger player in the backline. Reid Watkins will have a positive impact on the Burnaby game. Prediction: Burnaby by +3.
UVic (Feb 1st/current)
1 Phoenix Moller
2 Sully Curran
3 Brighton Feldman / Nic Willey
4 Dane Siebens / Muiredach Casey
5 Brendan Kim / Dane Siebens
6 Adam Doane
7 Merlin M’Cloud
8 Ryder Heaney-Corns
9 Reece Thompson / Lachlan Crooks
10 Gareth Sandner
11 Jackson Powell
12 Mason Levin
13 Sion Griffiths
14 Morgan di Nardo / Jack Penaluna
15 Alex Gamage
16 Anan McAllister / Jordy Auger
17 Alex Gordon / Kale Jones
18 Nic Willey / Alex Gordon
19 Josh Petrov / Brendan Kim
20 Muiredach Casey / Josh Petrov
21 Lachlan Crooks / Ian Smith
22 Tanner Milligan
23 Jack Penaluna / TBD
Burnaby (Feb 1st/current)
1 Luka Bradley
2 Dylan Vermette
3 Bryce Worden
4 Andrew McIntyre
5 Sam Tsoi
6 Jonah Fridfinnson
7 Jack Bolton
8 Dylan Horne
9 Ezekiel Rossetti / Reid Watkins
10 Ed Shepherdson
11 Kyle Corrigan
12 David Dinbandhu
13 Brendon McCaskie
14 Ethan Turner / Kimi Vunituraga
15 Ethan Dromgool
16 Joel Abdel Barr / Lalit Bharadwaj
17 Rylin McKenzie / Liem Jung
18 Iain Kennell-Webb / Cooper Johnston
19 Leo Chen
20 Jeke Gotegote / Wiremu Sharman
21 Jacob King / Ezekiel Rossetti
22 Dan Josok / Stu Jamison
23 TBA
UBCOB Ravens 72 v Castaway Wanderers 31 @ 14:30
Referee: Saro Turner AR1: Nathaniel Hight AR2: Karl Hall
Venue: Jericho Beach Park
A surprising +41 blowout win for the Ravens as they again show why they’re ranked #1. They are well ahead of the pack in top spot with a 4.7 points per match average. CW fall to a 2.3 point per match average which drops them to #6 with UBC overtaking them and claiming #5. Next week the Ravens visit the Lomas in a battle of the top 2, CW will visit James Bay.
PREGAME
#1 hosting #5. Ravens drew their last match against UBC, CW won their last match against the Pride.
CW have Mike Finnemore back in the second row, Chris Gamage who came over from the Vikes gets the start at scrum-half. They’re missing Ethan Hager who is away with the Canada 7s team, he’s replaced by Zech Pilgrim who usually plays scrum-half.
The Ravens are missing Aaron McLelland again, not a good sign for them. They make a change at flyhalf from last match with Logan Henry moving from fullback to #10 and Nick Blain moving to fullback. Joe Lock returns at #8 and Jack Carson starts at scrum-half. A new name at hooker, Vian Wollie Wolmarans, South African I think. Ben Greenstein, who was on the Canada 7s team at Vancouver 7s but didn’t make the trip to Cape Town, is starting on the wing.
CW have Bowd, and Ravens are missing McLelland, that’s a plus for CW at #10. The return of Joe Locke at #8 and Jack Carson at #9 is a plus for Ravens. Ravens are #1 in the standings, and at home, have to go in as favourites. Prediction: Ravens by +6.
CW (Feb 1st/current)
1 Gavin Kratz
2 Jack Wallace
3 Denver Fatt
4 Conor McKenzie / Mike Finnemore
5 Ayo Ogunlabe
6 Gord Kehoe / Dafydd Thomas
7 Steve Pyke
8 Ollie Nott
9 Zech Pilgrim / Chris Gamage
10 Gradyn Bowd
11 Hugh Mager
12 Andrew Easson
13 Jordan Tait
14 AJ Kosempel
15 Ethan Hager / Zech Pilgrim
16 Antonio Corbin
17 Jace Peters
18 Jack Marshall
19 Nat Dring / Conor McKenzie
20 Dafydd Thomas / John Humphries
21 Ronan Graham / Gord Kehoe
22 Matt Sutherland
23 Chris Gamage / Keegan Hall
Ravens (Feb 1st/current)
1 Josh Tweed
2 David Carson / Vian Wollie Wolmarans
3 Joshua Christy / Dion Falconer
4 Don Carson / Iwan Shenton
5 Iwan Shenton / Don Carson
6 Owain Ruttan / Ethan MacDonald
7 David O’Donoghue / Sean Beckett
8 Ethan MacDonald / Joe Locke
9 Gioacchino Sangiorgi / Jack Carson
10 Nick Blain / Logan Henry
11 Cole Keffer
12 Ethan Berry
13 Hamish Janes
14 Mark Wandeto / Ben Greenstein
15 Logan Henry / Nick Blain
16 Grant Crowell / David Carson
17 Owen Kokan
18 Dion Falconer / Joshua Christy
19 Frank Carson / David O’Donoghue
20 Jake Ikeda / Owain Ruttan
21 Jack Carson / Gaspard de Ligault
22 Jacob Bourne / Tsugunosuke Hirai
23 Ben Greenstein / Jake Thiel
Westshore 17 v James Bay 13 @ 14:30
Referee: Cole Pedrick AR1: Andrew Foster AR2: Kenneth Yee
Venue: Juan De Fuca
A competitive match at Juan de Fuca with the home team claiming a +4 victory. Westshore retain 4th place in the standings and the Bays remain in the cellar. Next week the Bays host CW and Westshore host UBC.
The match can be viewed on the Westshore FB page.
The Bays scored first, two minutes in, after a penalty, lineout and maul gave them position inside the 5 metres. Eventually their second row, Josh Wilson, drove over the line for the score, 5-0. D’Shawn Bowen scored next for the Bays when prolonged pressure inside the Westshore 22 paid off with a pass out to the wing which gave Bowen a one on one opportunity, he bounced off the tackler, got up and dove over the line. He’s looking fit and powerful, and should be in the mix for the national team in 7s or XVs. 10-0 for the Bays with 12 minutes gone.
Westshore got one back at 22 minutes when they established some possession inside the 22 and the ball was spread wide to #14, Alex Mentiply, who was able to beat a couple of defenders and cross the line. At 34 minutes Westshore got their 2nd try when Alvin “the Buffalo” Otieno went for a #8 pick up from the base of the scrum and powered over from 5 metres out. Again no conversion, and the score was 10-10. Which was the halftime score.
The Bays added a penalty kick at 50 minutes to go ahead 13-10. Westshore closed out the scoring at 55 minutes with some forwards pressure inside the 5 metres, the Bays defence pinched in, and the ball was spun wide to Westshore fullback Johnstone Olindi who found nothing but space to the goal area.
Kudos to Westshore for having a regular stream of their games, every Premier team should be doing this. With technology readily available, a laptop, camera, cell phone it’s an essential investment to promote your players, club and sponsors.
PREGAME
#4 hosting #10. Westshore lost a narrow one to the Pride in their last match, the Bays lost to the Pride by a sizeable margin in their last match.
The Bays are missing Cody Nhanala and Josh Thiel, both national level players, but see D’Shawn Bowen return to the wing. Mike Nieuwenhuysen takes on the #10 role with Josh Thiel absent. The Bays have added two Fijians and a Kazak player to the bench so they’re a bit of an unknown and may have an impact on the match.
Westshore missing Thomas Isherwood who is with the Canada 7s team in Cape Town. Also missing is Taylor McGuire at inside centre. Some shuffling of the forwards with Zephyr Melynk moving from hooker to flank and Brian Waraba moving to hooker. Brian Ndirangu moves from second row to openside flanker.
Tough to call with the Bays having some new impact players, but missing a couple of national level players. We’ll go with the home team who sit higher in the standings. Prediction: Westshore by +5.
James Bay (Feb 15th/current)
1) Steve Stadnyk
2) Ezra Vai
3) Dakota Lachance / Wyatt Pilz
4) Alex Jordan / Josh Wilson
5) Asfi Saeed
6) Brendyn Beck / Tom Richardson
7) Cody Nhanala / Brendyn Beck
8) Mitch Young
9) Crosby Stewart
10) Josh Thiel / Mike Nieuwenhuysen
11) Hayden Jenkins / Craig Mitchell-Hermann
12) Mike Nieuwenhuysen / Kainoa Lloyd
13) Kainoa Lloyd / Mostyn Findlay
14) Craig Mitchell-Hermann / D’Shawn Bowen
15) Tom Burton
16) Austin Hutchcroft / Dakota Lachance
17) Julian Gauld
18) Wyatt Pilz / Georgiy Sinyakin
19) Teigan White / Andrew Montgrand
20) Josh Wilson / Austin Hutchcroft
21) Spike Street / Mark Yuen
22) Isaac Gonevou / Iowane Raturaciri
23) Malik James / Tevita Daugunu
Westshore (Feb 8th/current)
1 Kane Perrett
2 Zephyr Melnyk / Brian Waraba
3 Nathan Groenewold / Daragh Carroll
4 Brian Ndirangu / Joe Kingham
5 Joe Kingham / Seth Recalma
6 Brian Waraba / Zephyr Melnyk
7 Tom Heuser / Brian Ndirangu
8 Alvin Otieno
9 Josh Nordstrom
10 Jimmy Wilson-Bishop
11 Johnstone Olindi / Nelson Oyoo
12 Taylor McGuire / Jeff Olouch
13 Jeff Olouch / Darian Morrison
14 Nelson Oyoo / Alex Mentiply
15 Thomas Isherwood / Johnstone Olindi
16 Matt Evans
17 Daragh Carroll / Nathan Groenewold
18 Simeon John / Meshack Tunnichi
19 Seth Recalma / Aiden Holland
20 Charles Taimani / Tommy Heuser
21 Darian Morrison / Braeden Bespalko
22 Hudson Poppitt
23 Alex Mentiply / Payton Gibson
Capilano 10 v UBC 48 @ 14:45
Referee: Benjamin Lambrick AR1: Jacob Gonzales AR2: Jeremy Duncan
Venue: Klahanie Park
An emphatic +38 win for UBC puts them in 5th place with 2.75 points per match. Caps remain in 7th place but just narrowly ahead of UVic in the race for the final playoff spot. Next week Caps host Burnaby and UBC travel to the Island to take on Westshore.
PREGAME
#7 hosting #6. Caps last match was their November 30 loss to Ravens, UBC drew with the #1 Ravens in their last match on Feb 1st.
Capilano missing Johnny Franklin who is with the Canada 7s team in Cape Town. Also gone is Reid Davis to the MLR. Austin James the usual starting #8 isn’t in the roster, actually it’s a whole new backrow for the Caps. Toby Horn gets the start at #10. The good news is they have Melani Nanai back and starting at outside centre.
UBC are returning from a disappointing tour to California where they lost to the Cal Bears, the first game was 49-24 and we didn’t see the score posted on the second match. Combined with losing the University championships where they went in as favourites, it hasn’t been the banner year for them so far. They did draw with the Ravens last match so this will be a good indicator of where the program is right now. It’s a fairly stable roster with Talon McMullin returning to the inside centre spot, still no sign of Takoda McMullin.
Caps missing some key players but have Melani Nanai returning, UBC usually favourites in this matchup but haven’t been outstanding this year. Still they’ll go in as favourites. Prediction: UBC by +2.
Capilano (Feb 1st/current)
1 Mareko Fagasa-Nuku
2 Jacob Bossi
3 William Manulelia / Arsalan Schaigan
4 Ryan Hickey
5 Izzak Kelly
6 Reid Davis / Nick Pearce
7 Pete Ingoldsby / Flynn Heyes
8 Austin James / Colin Mitchell
9 Jack Adams
10 Johnny Franklin / Toby Horn
11 Cam Waddell
12 Bruce Jones
13 Ryan Leskiw / Melani Nanai
14 Ben Taylor / Ryan Leskiw
15 Mike Moloney
16 Ethan McCarthy / Joey Ficocelli
17 Josh Leeks
18 Arsalan Schaigan / Vincent Liardet-Smith
19 Nick Pearce / Reid Yurkowski
20 Flynn Heyes / Sasha Putt
21 Colin Mitchell / Jamie Drummond
22 Jamie Drummond / Doug Stuart
23 Toby Horn / TBD
UBC (Feb 1st/current)
1 Ken Buckingham
2 Emmet Allan
3 Payton Teneycke
4 Sandon Gupta / Sol Jacques
5 Joe McNulty
6 Sol Jacques / Elijan McQueen
7 Callum Arnesen
8 Relmu Wilson-Valdes
9 Stephen Webb
10 James Biss
11 Max McGavern / Demetri Patterson
12 Alastair Marshall / Talon McMullin
13 Liam James / Alastair Marshall
14 Niko Andrianos
15 Ben Beauchamp
16 Elijah McQueen / Tate Hartley
17 Ethan Lee / James Noftall
18 James Noftall / Kevin Griffiths
19 Charlie Clark / Spencer Voegeli
20 Liam Kinghorn / Charlie Clark
21 Ben Martin / Jonty Nichols
22 Caleb Seumanutafa
23 Lenny Bonduau / Max McGavern
Women’s Premier
Castaway Wanderers 47 v Vancouver Thunderbirds1 12@ 12:45
Referee: Kevin Heieis AR1: Andrew Owen AR2: Dan Cvitanovich
Venue: Windsor Park
CW get a win at home and Thunderbirds 1 start their season at 0-1. The result puts CW at 14 points from 6 games, a 2.3 points per match average. That puts them in 3rd place ahead of Burnaby. CW are next in action on March 15th in Seattle. Thunderbird 1 host Westshore next week while Thunderbirds 2 host Seattle.
PREGAME
This is supposed to be Thunderbirds 1 first match but a lot of the roster looks like Thunderbirds 2 who sit top of the standings. Next week both Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are in action, so it will give a better idea of what the separate rosters will look like. CW are in 4th place.
CW are coming off a big loss to Westshore. They’re missing veteran second row Chanelle Edwards Challenger. The roster looks similar to last match with some rotation from the bench. Remee Brown at outside centre comes into the roster to start at outside centre.
The Thunderbirds 2 team are coming off a 1 point win over Seattle. Eleven of the starters on the Thunderbirds 1 team this week are from that Thunderbirds 2 roster, plus Jessie Knaggs returns at #8 from the Thunderbirds 2 fall roster. Positions 18-23 are TBA so it’s not clear on the strength of the bench.
The Thunderbirds team are undefeated on the field, their only notch in the loss column is their first road trip to CW when they didn’t have enough front row cover. That doesn’t seem to be an issue this week. Thunderbirds should be favourites. Prediction: Thunderbirds by +7.
CW (Feb 15th/current)
1 Josie Anzai
2 Karen Garcia Perdomo
3 Kelsey McKinnon / Bronwyn Zodichi
4 Marina Skakun
5 Chanelle Edwards Challenger / Josie Pusch
6 Lucy Beauchemin
7 Regan Casey / Alex Motherwell
8 Laura Salder
9 Kate Kristianson / Gwynnie Fry
10 Charlotte Hilton
11 Bella Anderton-Teasdale / Emily Samek
12 Chloe Hill-Huse
13 Emily Samek / Remee Brown
14 Danica Pedrick / Bella Anderton-Teasdale
15 Emily Currey
16 Jess Beaudry / Jamie Rikley-Krindle
17 Josie Pusch / Imogen Maxwell
18 Bronwyn Zodichi / Kelsey McKinnon
19 Imogen Maxwell / Grace Goodwin
20 Alex Motherwell / Livia Ashbourne
21 Kassidy Cej / Savannah King
22 Gwynnie Fry / Sara Einarson
23 Savannah King / Danica Pedrick
Thunderbirds 1 (Feb 8th/current)
1 Ashley Mulindi / Alli Dobson
2 Dylan Kipp / Maddy Thran
3 Sasha Oreskovich / Dylan Kipp
4 Anya Prokopich
5 Teya Ashworth
6 Sarah Fong
7 Maddy Thran / Ella Kirk
8 Ella Kirk / Jesse Knaggs
9 Lanae Davenport
10 Chloe Bong
11 Catrin Taylor / Cassie Jorgenson
12 Sofia Shortis / Meghan Leung
13 Saylor Pickrell / Jaime Knaggs
14 Jamie Dickson / Emily Wang
15 Cassie Jorgenson / Taylor Gotto
16 Alli Dobson / Maya Nowotny
17 Tegan Jost
18 Gabby Knox / TBA
19 Maya Nowotny / TBA
20 Ella Hudson / TBA
21 Taylor Gotto / TBA
22 Gracie McAllister / TBA
23 TBA
Seattle Rugby 59 v Burnaby Lake 17 @ 12:45
Referee: Visiting Referee
Venue: Starfire Field
Seattle get their first win and do it in a big way with a +42 win at home. The result puts Seattle at 1-5 with a 1.3 points per match average. Burnaby fall to 2-3 and 2.0 points per match, putting them below CW in the standings in 4th place. Seattle take on Thunderbirds 2 in Vancouver next week, Burnaby have a bye.
PREGAME
# 5 Seattle hosting #3 Burnaby. Seattle are winless so far this season but only lost by a point to league leading Thunderbirds 2 last match. Burnaby lost to Westshore in their last match in November.
Seattle have a lot of new names, I think we counted 12 new names from their last match, many in the reserves, 5 new names in the starting roster from last match. Seattle have been getting stronger, their last match, a one point loss at home.
Burnaby haven’t played a match since November. They also have a lot of changes from their last match, about 12 players. One big impact player missing is their #8 Ada Okonkwo. They have Tess Woldring back at tighthead prop.
With a lot of new names from last match on both sides, it’s difficult to predict form. Seattle at home, getting stronger, Burnaby missing their powerful #8. Might be Seattle’s day. Prediction: Seattle by +1.
Seattle (Feb 8th/current)
1. Gabby Simmons / Sydnee Kimber
2. Taylor Pearson / Taylor Tracy
3. Hattie McKay / Gabby Simmons
4. Bee Blackman / Alina Ampeh
5. Laurel Hendrickson / Hattie McKay
6. Alina Ampeh / Mo Cricchio
7. Envee Sakhoeun-Hem
8. Zyana Flores-Thomas
9. Noelle Heiser
10. Madison Ray
11. Sally Egan / Kendra Young
12. Gabrielle Fernandopulle
13. Emily Barber / Karina Bridgman
14. Olivia Santiago / P.J. Tillman
15. Karina Bridgman / Sally Egan
16. Sydney Abel / Tee Teaupa
17. Marae Slyter / Ann England
18. Krystall Marshall
19. Mo Cricchio / Juliette Champagnat
20. Jess Berg / Faith Granados
21. Sho Markus / Astrid Ramos
22. Katie Shadler / Aiyana Gilliard
23. Kendra Young / Kiki Mamea
Burnaby (Nov 30th/current)
1. Payton McNeill
2. Rachel Choboter / Jade Farhat
3. Jailee Mercedes / Tess Woldring
4. Kim Brown / Nicole Stephenson
5. Simran Gillar / Teresa Thomson
6. Chelsea Rodgers / Simran Gillar
7. Gabriel Hindley / Kim Brown
8. Ada Okonkwo / Emily Van Gulik
9. Natasha Lalonde
10. Aphra Taylor / Alayna Scramstad
11. Jaidyn Mawhinney / Rebecca Roth
12. Carmen Duursema / Aphra Taylor
13. Natalie Hewko / Chelsey Rodgers
14. Natalie King / Quaila Trang
15. Rachel Wood / Jaidyn Mawhinney
16. Kelly Shields / Sofie van Beusekom
17. Ella Jimenez / Faith Nishi
18. Emily Van Gulik / Stephanie Thurston
19. Teresa Thomson / Stasi Chasso
20. Faith Nishi / Naomi Elwood
21. Katie Grudzinski / Amanda Jardine
22. Kaila France / James Sheldon-Houle
23. Rebecca Roth / TBA