BC Rugby Weekend of March 29th

Weekend Results: Lakers Pummel Lomas; Caps Top Ravens; Bays Paddle Rowers; CW Dominate Vikes

posted March 28 2014

Meraloma 6 @ Burnaby Lake 59

No surprises here, Burnaby continue at the top of the standings and subsequently look forward to a home field semi-final against either Capilano or CW. Their remaining games are against Rowers and Capilano and they’re 12 points clear of 2nd place James Bay.

PREGAME
Last place team without a win this season visits first place team with only one loss. Not much to speculate about here except the remote possibility of overconfidence by Burnaby creating havoc with their game – shouldn’t be a problem as they’ve fielded their A team. Prediction: Burnaby by 15.

BURNABY LAKE

1 Anthony Luca – Capt
2 Andrew Lackner
3 Scott Mackay
4 Gurvinder Kalar
5 Mike Gough
6 Steve Batie
7 Scott Plummer
8 Admir Cejvanovic
9 Cody Rockson
10 Geoff Ryan
11 Matt Alexander
12 James Reekie (i)
13 Jeke Gotegote
14 Evan Thomas
15 Cole Mcqueen

UBCOB Ravens 18 @ Capilano RFC 22

Pretty well nailed this one. Ravens didn’t make the 20 points and the Caps defence did its job. Ravens get a bonus point in the loss but they’re 7 points adrift of CW and the final playoff spot. If CW wins next weekend at home against Meralomas then Ravens are out regardless of the result between Ravens and CW on the final weekend of regular play. Caps don’t get a bonus point in the win so CW claws a point closer for 3rd. Caps are at 36, CW at 33. CW has the easier schedule with Lomas and Ravens while Caps have a nightmare finish facing the top two teams James Bay and Burnaby. It’s looking very much like a CW @ JBAA semi and a Caps @ Burnaby semi.

PREGAME
5 plays 3 in this game with repercussions on the playoff picture. If Ravens lose and CW win, it could spell the end of the Ravens postseason hopes. If Ravens win it makes the last two weeks very interesting. Caps were battered last weekend by CW, it will be interesting to see how they rebound at home. Coach Tom Larisch was away for the last match and it seems his presence is crucial for the Caps to perform at optimum level. The Ravens lost a close one to Rowers last weekend, they’ll be disappointed with that result. So two teams with a lot at stake coming off losses, I’m expecting a close game. If Caps can rediscover their defensive game that won them upset victories over Burnaby and James Bay, I think the home field advantage will get it done. If the Ravens score more than 20 their odds of winning go up, if less then Caps defence is working. Prediction: Caps by 3.

CAPILANO

1. Jesse Ryan
2. Evan Mallory
3. Evan Marshall
4. Robbie McCall
5. Taylor Clark
6. Sam Lanigan
7. Gareth Dyer
8. Glen McKinnon (C)
9. Chris Robinson
10. Stephen Jones
11. Adam Zaruba
12. Joel Hulett
13. Brady Carpenter
14. Levi Broadland
15. Bruce Bowman

UBCOB

1. Garett Garbe (C)
2. Jim Yegenegi
3. Guido Suez
4. Mike Burak
5. Callum Morrison
6. Kyle Gilmore
7. Nick Waggot
8. Tom McKeen
9. Ryan Mills
10. Tom Luke
11. Daniel Pelletier
12. Zack Whittenberg
13. Kol Henrikson
14. Matt Law
15. Shea O’Hallahan

James Bay 52 @ Vancouver Rowing Club 30

This game was close 24-17 at the half and 31-30 into the second half. The Bays put it out of reach with 3 more second half tries. The Bays remain in 2nd, unlikely to catch Burnaby but 2nd place gets a home semi and that’s what they’ll be aiming for. They face Caps at home next weekend and then close the regular season on the road against Meralomas. The Rowers had a good run this season, they avoided relegation, didn’t make the playoffs but defeated some of the teams above them in the standings and currently have a respectable 5-7 record. They close out the season with two away games against Burnaby and UVic.

PREGAME
Normally this would be considered a dunk for JBAA but across the ferry and with Rowers playing some good ball, it’s not so certain. Rowers defeated Ravens last weekend, Bays lost to Burnaby. Rowers still have an outside shot at a playoff spot, if they can win this game anything is possible. If Bays lose they might say good-bye to the home field advantage in the semis. A lot riding on this game for both teams. Rowers have a lot of speed in the backline but Bays should have that covered with the backs they’re putting out this weekend. The question is how will the forwards match up. The Bays forward pack is missing a few key members, like Nick Wallace the USA Eagles prop. If the forwards are evenly matched I think the Bays backline has enough star power to get the job done. Won’t be a walk over though. Prediction: Bays by 7.

JAMES BAY

1. Noah Barker
2. Sterling Vidalin
3. Cole Racine
4. Jim de Goede
5. Graham Harriman [I]
6. Vince Herlaar
7. Rain Slavica
8. Nolan Miles
9. Spence Dalziel
10. Connor Braid
11. Jordan Wilson-Ross
12. Taylor Dalziel
13. Nick Blevins
14. Clayton Meeres (card)
15. Dan Mathie

UVic Vikes 12 @ Castaway Wanderers 53

CW keep rolling along and gaining momentum every game. They’re the team you wouldn’t want to meet in the semis on their current form. They won’t catch the top 2 teams to earn a home semi but they’ll be a formidable opponent if they can keep their national team players suited up. Buydens has gone back to NZ to prepare for the NPC season and there’s talk of Tiedemann going to Plymouth to join Beukeboom and Sean-Michael Stephen but that might be next season so won’t effect the CW playoff drive. If the 7s program decides to give Kleeberger or Fuailefau a run in Scotland or England that may have an effect though. The national XVs team has their first run out June 7th so player availability up to May 10th seems a good bet. CW finish the regular season hosting the Lomas and then travelling to the Ravens. A win next weekend guarantees at least 4th with a strong chance of jumping up to 3rd and a playoff matchup against Bays on the horizon. The Vikes are done and dusted for the season in terms of playoff hopes, the loss of key players to the national teams (7s and U20) plus injuries hampered their league aspirations.

PREGAME
The only Island game this weekend featuring two teams that are familiar foes, Vikes send a lot of players to CW and vice versa. Vikes have been on a downward spiral as of late, they defeated the winless Lomas last weekend but haven’t defeated a top ranked team in a while. CW are on the up ramp with a plethora of national team players at their disposal. Ray Barkwill played on the 2nd team last week (subbed on 1st team) as there are rules governing the number of carded and Rugby Canada “supported” players a team can field. That’s an interesting behind the scenes discussion going on, what constitutes a Rugby Canada supported athlete as only 7s players are carded but national XVs players may receive some form of compensation. We’ll let the boardroom lawyers figure that one out but it’s also a question in Div 1 with Seattle boasting a number of USA Eagles. As far as this game, CW have brought in help from Alberta as well as Clay Panga showed up on the roster last week. The former Velox player who moved to Alberta is now wearing the tricolours. Barkwill is back in town, Buydens, Tiedemann and Ilnicki national team props, it’s an all Canada front row. Then you add Kleeberger, Mike Fuailefau from the 7s program. Ander Monro coming back from retirement. Too much firepower here for the Vikes to handle, just the tight five match ups will see the Vikes set piece going back at a rate of knots. If CW can keep this roster intact until May 10th they may well make it to the final. Prediction: CW by 10.

UVIC VIKES

1 Chris Linn
2 Casey Reed
3 Dan Hyryck
4 Shea Wakefield
5 Lucas Balkovec
6 Jeff Nishima-Miller
7 Oliver Nott
8 Haydn Evans
9 Crosby Stewart
10 Connor Lllewellyn
11 Vaughn Gaston
12 Doug Fraser
13 Remi Anctil (captain)
14 Kane Wyatt
15 Pat Kay

CASTAWAY WANDERERS (last week’s roster vs Capilano)

Kyle Armstrong
Ray Barkwill
John Braddock
Matt Buckley
Hubert Buydens
Julien Canet
Miles Dingwall
Mike Fuailefau
Keenan Horton
Riley Ilnicki
Jake Ilnicki
Gord Kehoe
Adam Kleeberger
Riley Macpherson
Ander Monro
Chad Northcott
Clay Panga
Andrew Tiedemann

BC RUGBY RESULTS

Canadian Direct Insurance Premier League
James Bay 52(+1) -30(+1) Vancouver Rowing Club
Meraloma Rugby Club 6 – 59(+1) Burnaby Lake
UBCOB Ravens 18(+1) – 22 Capilano RFC
UVic Vikes 12 – 53(+1) Castaway Wanderers RFC

Ceili’s Cup (First Division) League
James Bay AA 30(+1) – 17 Vancouver Rowing Club
Meraloma Rugby Club 12 – 66(+1) Burnaby Lake
UBCOB Ravens 10 – 30(+1) Capilano RFC
UVic Norsemen 12 – 43(+1) Castaway Wanderers RFC

Women’s Adidas Premiership
Emerald City Mudhens 0 –20 Abbotsford RFC Defaulted by Emerald City Mudhens
Burnaby Lake 29 – 33(+1) United Rugby Club
Capilano RFC at Seattle (Seattle RFC) 11:30am
Bayside AA 7 – 73(+1) Velox Valkyries

Posted in BC Premier.