BC Rugby Weekend of November 25th 2023

BC Premier Week 6 Results & Rosters: UBC Fall to Burnaby; Caps Topped by CW; Ravens Edge Pride; Lomas Dominate Bays; Westshore Defeat Vikes

It’s the last weekend of action in BC Premier before the winter break. The Lomas go into the break as the only undefeated team sporting a 6-0 record and a +255 point differential.

Burnaby Lake 38 v UBC 15 @ 14:30
Referee: Shanda Assmus AR1: David Smortchevsky AR2: Phil Webster
Venue: Burnaby Lake Rugby Club

This was the only prediction we got wrong as the BCRU reports the score at 38-15 for Burnaby. Burnaby go into the break in a 4th place tie with CW, both at 16 points but Burnaby having a game in hand. UBC fall to 8th place with 7 points.

PREGAME

#5 Burnaby hosting #8 UBC. UBC coming off a dominant win over UVic in the university championship final. Burnaby coming off a steep loss to #1 Meraloma.

Burnaby with minimal changes to the roster from last week, Colton Lee comes off the bench to start at blindside flanker. David Dinbandhu makes his return and is slotted in at inside centre, Scott Barr starts at outside centre.

UBC sees Izzak Kelly return from Spain where Canada were playing in the La Vila tournament. The only other change in the forwards from their championship team in the University finals is at #8, Sandon Gupta comes off the bench to start at #8. In the backs there are some changes, the biggest is at #10 where Takoda McMullin gets a chance to run the the backline. His brother Talon remains at inside centre. Jacob Bourne gets the start at scrum half, Niko Andrianos starts on the wing and Kieran Martin starts at outside centre.

Burnaby’s two wins came over the bottom 2 teams in the standings, UBC’s losses have come against the top teams. This result will give an indication of where the teams stand as the winter season takes a break. UBC have the momentum coming off that dominant win in the University Championship.

Prediction: UBC by 4.

Burnaby

1 Luka Bradley
2 Evan Mackey
3 Bryce Worden (c)
4 Cooper Johnston
5 Dom Baptista
6 Lautaro Rowland-Toscano / Colton Lee
7 Jack Bolton
8 James Kelly
9 Mohi Parata
10 Ethan Turner
11 Jack Brady
12 Nolan Shelley / David Dinbandhu
13 Brian Murphy / Scott Barr
14 Stu Jamieson
15 Eoin Reddington
16 Preston Petrovich / Chase McCrum
17 Juan Videla
18 Lalit Bharadwaj
19 Iain Kennell-Webb
20 Colton Lee / TBD
21 Jeke Gotegote
22 Kishan Karunathasan / Nolan Shelley
23 Dan Josok

UBC

1 Koen Buckingham
2 Jacob Bossi
3 Payton Teneycke
4 Hillyard Carson
5 Joe McNulty / Izzak Kelly
6 Sol Jacques
7 Callum Arnesen
8 Relmu Wilson-Valdes / Sandon Gupta
9 Stephen Webb / Jacob Bourne
10 James Biss / Takoda McMullin
11 Jared Andrews-Almack / Niko Andrianos
12 Talon McMullin
13 Takoda McMullin / Kieran Martin
14 Alastair Marshall / Jared Andrews-Almack
15 Ben Beauchamp
16 Emmett Allen / Raymond Chou
17 Raymond Chou / Emmett Allen
18 Liam Kinghorn / Ethan Lee
19 Thor Noble / Elijah McQueen
20 Sandon Gupta / Liam Kinghorn
21 Kieran Martin / Caleb Seumanutafa
22 Ben Martin / Marco Mitchell
23 Niko Andrianos / Stephen Webb

Castaway Wanderers 40 v Capilano 20 @ 14:30
Referee: Julianne Zussman AR1: Andrew Foster AR2: Claude Paterson
Venue: Windsor Park

Gradyn Bowd keeps his winning record at #10 intact, he’ll be heading off to MLR for the 2nd half of the season. It was a close match throughout with CW scoring two late tries to push the scoreline out to a comfortable margin. CW are tied with Burnaby for 4th, Caps are in 9th place still looking for their first win of the season.

PREGAME

#7 CW hosting #9 Capilano. CW coming off a loss to the Pride while Capilano lost to Ravens last week.

CW have Gradyn Bowd back, I don’t think they’ve lost a game when he’s been at #10, he was there for their 2 wins. Their forward pack looks stable with one change, Ben Peper replacing Gord Kehoe at blindside flanker. A few changes in the backline with Sion Griffiths starting at inside centre, Jack Shaw moves to the wing, and last week’s #10, Gareth Sandner moving to fullback.

The Caps have started their veteran pairing of #8 and #9, Glenn McKinnon and Chris Robinson. Campbell Chandler comes off the bench to start at lock, Reid Brookes moves from #8 to blindside flanker. In the backs Ethan Whiting comes off the bench for the start on the wing and Sam Franklin starts at fullback.

Always a competitive match between these clubs. Going to go with the Gradyn Bowd factor in this match and the home crowd.

Prediction: CW by 3.

CW

1 Jace Peters
2 Jack Wallace
3 Gavin Kratz
4 Ayo Ogunlabe
5 Tom Davidson
6 Gord Kehoe / Ben Peper
7 Ollie Nott
8 Mike Finnemore
9 Zech Pilgrim
10 Gareth Sandner / Gradyn Bowd
11 Hugh Mager / Rio Apt
12 Matt Sutherland / Sion Griffiths
13 James Mitchell
14 Sion Griffiths / Jack Shaw
15 Jack Shaw / Gareth Sandner
16 Harry Seymour / Nik Hildebrand
17 Chris Carson
18 Conor McKenzie / Harry Seymour
19 Ben Peper / Conor McKenzie
20 Keegan Hall / Nat Dring
21 Rio Apt / Hugh Mager
22 Ray Robinson / Keegan Hall
23 TBD

Capilano

1 James Ritzema
2 Ethan McCarthy / Jason De Freitas
3 Andrew Paton
4 Armin Teimoori / Ollie Winspear
5 Ollie Winspear / Campbell Chandler
6 Jason DeFreitas / Reid Brookes
7 Flynn Heyes
8 Reid Brookes / Glen McKinnon
9 Brandon Power / Chris Robinson
10 Mike Moloney
11 Mahyar Hosseini / Cam Waddell
12 Chuck Huntingford
13 Johnny Franklin (C)
14 Cam Waddell / Ethan Whiting
15 Cam Perrin / Sam Franklin
16 Cass Kocevar / Ethan McCarthy
17 Cali Martinez / Cass Kocevar
18 Campbell Chandler / McKenzie Mills
19 Stephen Walsh / Jack Rainer
20 Glen McKinnon / TBD
21 Chris Robinson / Brandon Power
22 Sam Franklin / Mahyar Hosseini
23 Ethan Whiting / TBD

Meraloma 68 v James Bay 17 @ 14:30
Referee: Saro Turner AR1: Tyler Dawson AR2: Michael Landiak
Venue: Connaught Park

The Lomas dominate again and go into the break at 30 points, a 6-0 record and 4 points ahead of the 2nd place Pride. The Bays remain in 10th spot, still looking for their first win of the season.

PREGAME

#1 Lomas hosting #10 James Bay. The Lomas defeated Burnaby by a sizeable margin while the Bays fell to Westshore last week.

The Lomas have been unstoppable this season, they rotate their front row from last week, also their loose forwards from within the 23 player roster. The spine of the backline, 9, 10, 15 remain the same as last week.

The Bays have some rotation in the forwards with one new player, loosehead prop, Aiden Vachon. Anton Ngongo starts on the wing otherwise the backline remains the same from last week.

The Lomas are undefeated going up against a team without a win, at home. They go in as strong favourites.

Prediction: Lomas by 12.

Meraloma

1 Geoff Brooks / Mark Rickard
2 Gil Cann-Vaana / Scott Bowers
3 Conor Turley / Connor O’Flaherty
4 Finton O’Sullivan
5 Brian Hayden / Giovanni Guizzetti
6 Giovanni Guizzetti / Corne Ludick
7 Evan Galvin / Ethan Jaques
8 Jalan Farris / Evan Galvin
9 Pete Hurst
10 Trent Ormsby
11 Keith Graham / Conrad Kuita
12 Monty Weatherall
13 Jad Hamade / Joe Thomas
14 James McTurk / Nico Leonard
15 Louis Whelan
16 Scott Bowers / Geoff Brooks
17 Mark Rickard / Gil Cann-Vaana
18 Connor O’Flaherty / Conor Turley
19 Ethan Jaques / Brian Hayden
20 Corne Ludick / Ollie Brannigan
21 Joe Thomas / Jad Hamade
22 Conrad Kuita / James McTurk
23 Nico Leonard / Keith Graham

JBAA

1) Andrew McPherson / Aiden Vachon
2) Wyatt Pilz / Toby Ng
3) Kyle Steeves
4) Jack MacIntosh
5) Teigan White / Asfi Saeed
6) Dakota Lachance
7) Tom Richardson / Jeremiah Gonevou
8) Asfi Saeed / Tom Richardson
9) Crosby Stewart
10) Mike Newenheusen
11) Malik James / Anton Ngongo
12) Tom Burton
13) Liam McGuckian
14) Craig Mitchell-Hermann
15) Keegan Neary
16) Toby Ng / Tajoniel Forbes
17) Tajoniel Forbes / Kerry Park
18) Jeremiah Gonevou / Travis Best
19) Moe Steves
20) Travis Best / Tyler Grom
21) Mark Yuen / Kai Khan
22) Kai Khan / Beau Boehme
23) Adham Young

Pacific Pride 26 v UBCOB Ravens 31 @ 14:30
Referee: Cole Pedrick AR1: Mckenzie Eckart AR2: Michael Moss
Venue: Cowichan Rugby Club

The first loss for the Pride and they drop 4 points behind the Lomas in 2nd place. The Pride aren’t eligible for post season play so the Ravens are currently sitting in that 2nd spot that gets a bye in the first playoff round. The top 3 teams in the league, Lomas (30), Pride (26) and Ravens (25) are pulling away in the standings from the 4th/5th place group Burnaby/CW (16).

PREGAME

#2 Pride hosting #3 Ravens. Both teams coming off wins, the Pride over CW and the Ravens over the Caps.

The Ravens only have a couple of changes in the forwards, Josh Tweed returns as loosehead prop and Frank Carson gets the start at second row. One change in the backline with David Thompson getting the start on the wing.

The Pride rotate a few forwards with Charles Taimani coming into the roster to start at #8. Brady White gets the start at scrum half and the rest of the backline remains unchanged from last week.

This should be a good test for both teams, the Ravens one loss was to the top team, the Lomas. The Pride haven’t really been tested yet, they haven’t played the Lomas, so this will give a good indication of where the program sits in relation to the top 3 teams.

Prediction: Ravens by 3.

Ravens

1 Yo Hasegawa / Josh Tweed
2 Taiyo Minami
3 Tom Kaijaks
4 Trevor Helgason / Frank Carson
5 Don Carson
6 Matthew Chan
7 Joe Locke
8 Grant Crowell
9 Billy Wickham
10 Aaron McLelland
11 Tsugunosuke Hirai / David Thompson
12 Harjun Gill
13 Hamish Janes
14 Cole Keffer / Tsugunosuke Hirai
15 Nicholas Blain
16 Riku Konrad / Kaleb Whitelaw
17 Kaleb Whitelaw / Riku Konrad
18 Guido Suez
19 Frank Carson / James Carson
20 Aga Ligamy / Lance Lamberton
21 Lance Lamberton / Henry Bibby
22 Marceau Bertin / Aga Ligamy
23 JP Fieldhouse / Oliver Gullery

Pride

1 Theo Espagnol / Spencer Cooper
2 Sam Mace
3 Tyler Matchem
4 Karl Hunger / Reid Davis
5 Jaiden John
6 Reid Davis / Ben James
7 Von Richardson
8 Ben James / Charles Taimani
9 Jesse Kilgour / Brady White
10 James Thiel
11 AJ Kosemple
12 Noah Flesch
13 Liam Poulton
14 Ian Jones
15 Rhys James
16 Noah Kyneston
17 Aaron Pacha
18 Spencer Cooper / Theo Espagnol
19 Alastair Bruce / Karl Hunger
20 Braden Bruce
21 Paddy Kirwin
22 Justin Taylor
23 Tyler Buchanan

Westshore 38 v UVic 24 @ 14:30
Referee: Derek Horton AR1: Malcolm Klaver AR2: Martin Thornton
Venue: Juan De Fuca

UVic scored two early tries and it looked to be a long day for the home side early on. Westshore battled back to go ahead at the half and then it was a back and forth battle with Westshore pulling away at the end. Westshore with 3 wins in a row now, after going the previous two seasons without a win, are in a positive mindset going into the break. They sit in 6th place with 15 points, a point behind Burnaby and CW. UVic drop to 7th place with 13 points. There are 8 more weeks of regular season play when the season restarts in February.

Match Video

PREGAME

#6 Westshore hosting #4 UVic. Westshore defeating the Bays last weekend to win the Barnard Cup while the Vikes lost to UBC in the University championship final.

Westshore have a handy set of reserves with Quinn Ngawati, Siaki Vikilani and Gabe Casey on the bench. They’ll certainly make an impact when they come on. The forwards remain the same from last week with the exception of #8 where Admir Cejvanovic returns to the roster. Braeden Bespalko returns to the roster at outside centre and Nelson Oyoo comes off the bench to start on the wing.

UVic have rotated some of their reserves from last match into starting roles with some of their starters ready to make an impact later in the match. Phoenix Mollar retains his loosehead prop position as does #10 Rhys Patterson, the centres Andrew Easson and Shane Rikley-Krindle, and fullback Alex Gamage.

Westshore have won 2 consecutive matches and have a strong impact bench. We’ll see how the Vikes rebound from that disappointing final match vs UBC.

Prediction: Westshore by 4.

Westshore

1 Emerson Prior
2 Matt Evans
3 Kane Perrett
4 Nathan Groenewold
5 Matt Weir
6 Brian Waraba
7 Tom Heuser
8 Harrison Langi / Admir Cejvanovic
9 Yuya Kimura
10 Payton Gibson
11 Jeff Oluoch / Nelson Oyoo
12 Liam Clark
13 Darian Morrison / Braeden Bespalko
14 Alvin Otieno / Jeff Oluoch
15 Johnstone Olindi
16 Justin Tasse
17 Simeon John / Daragh Carroll
18 Duncan Polson / Karl Mattison
19 Quinn Baak / Chris Rose
20 Mark Discombe / Shane Dagg
21 Devon Stroud / Quinn Ngawati
22 Nelson Oyoo / Siaki Vikilani
23 Alex Mentiply / Gabe Casey

UVic

1 Phoenix Moller
2 Jordy Auger / Jack Marshall
3 Owen Kokan / Nic Willey
4 Merlin M’Cloud / Muiredach Casey
5 Brendan Kim / Alex Gordon
6 Ryder Heaney-Corns / Jaxson Jones
7 Jaxson Jones / Tucker Nadeau
8 Muiredach Casey / Henry Down
9 Ethan Smith / Chris Gamage
10 Rhys Patterson
11 Lockhart MacGregor / Graeme Norris
12 Andrew Easson
13 Shane Rikley-Krindle
14 Morgan di Nardo / Dylan Cleaver
15 Alex Gamage
16 Jack Marshall / Brent Hamberg
17 Brent Hamberg / Brendan Kim
18 Nic Willey / Merlin M’Cloud
19 Alex Gordon / Marcus Lott
20 Tucker Nadeau / Lucas Okano
21 Chris Gamage / Ethan Smith
22 Dylan Cleaver / Angus Boyd-Porter
23 Graeme Norris / Morgan Di Nardo

Posted in BC Premier, Front Page.