BC Premier Week 2: Burnaby Defeat Bays; Pride Overcome CW; Lomas Edge Westshore; Vikes Top Caps; Ravens Soar Past UBC: Rosters & Results
Week 2 of the Premier season kicks off on Saturday. There are four undefeated teams going into Week 2: Pacific Pride, CW, Meraloma and Burnaby.
We ended up 5 for 5 on the predictions this week, 9 for 10 over 2 weeks – a record we’ll no doubt fail to maintain over the course of the season.
Burnaby Lake 37 v James Bay AA 3 @ 14:30
Referee: Riley Robinson AR1: Shanda Assmus AR2: Nathaniel Hight
Venue: Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
A dominant performance by Burnaby, in particular their pack. Mike Devlin and John de Goede did an excellent job on commentary. Check out the match below. Next week Burnaby have a bye while the Bays visit the Ravens.
PREGAME
The last time these teams met in November of 2022 it was the Bays winning 22-17 in Burnaby. Both teams would go on to make the quarter-finals that season but neither team progressed beyond that.
Burnaby are 1-0 with a +7 win over Capilano last week. They only have a couple of changes in the forwards, Jamie Kelly comes into blindside flanker, moving Jack Bolton to second row. The backline remains the same from last week.
The Bays are coming off a -35 loss to CW. They’ve added Kyle Steeves as tighthead. There are a number of players vying to make the cut for the Canada team going to Spain in November who have been inserted into rosters this week and Steeves is one of them. That moves Dakota Lachance from prop to second row. The rest of the pack remains unchanged from last week. In the backs Mostyn Findlay returns from his Guatemala tour with the Dog River Howlers and slots in at inside centre, Joeli Gonevou comes off the bench to start on the wing.
Burnaby will be live streaming the game and the link is https://www.youtube.com/live/4X9wt0sECrk?si=L5YyrSAlWE_o1Bmh
Prediction: Burnaby by 5.
Burnaby
1 Luka Bradley
2 Evan Mackey
3 Bryce Worden (c)
4 Jack Bolton
5 Dom Baptista
6 Jamie Kelly
7 Jonah Fridfinnson
8 Taitusi Vikilani
9 Ezequiel Rossetti
10 Ethan Turner
11 Jack Brady
12 Reid Watkins
13 Scott Barr
14 Stu Jamieson
15 Sam Williams
16 Fuku Vikilani
17 Juan Videla
18 Ciarin Gavin
19 Tom Rafuse
20 Lautaro Rowland-Toscano
21 Justin Coen
22 Eoin Reddington
23 Mohi Parata
JBAA
1) Andrew McPherson
2) Wyatt Pilz
3) Kyle Steeves
4) Dakota Lachance
5) Jack MacIntosh
6) Jeremiah Gonevou
7) Tyler Grom
8) Tom Richardson
9) Crosby Stewart
10) Mike Newenheusen
11) Jack McCarthy
12) Mostyn Findlay
13) Tom Burton
14) Joeli Gonevou
15) Keegan Neary
16) Toby Ng
17) Tajoniel Forbes
18) Travis Best
19) Jake Slobodian
20) Nicky Mouret
21) Malik James
22) Craig Mitchell-Herman
23) Kai Khan
Castaway Wanderers 5 v Pacific Pride 47 @ 14:30
Referee: Malcolm Klaver AR1: Chris Horsley AR2: Martin Thornton
Venue: Windsor Park
A lopsided scoreline indicates the Academy had their way today. CW without Gradyn Bowd at the helm couldn’t get their attack going. Next week CW host Westshore and the Pride host TWU to close out the Coastal Cup competition.
PREGAME
Both teams looking good early in the season, CW with a +35 win over James Bay and the Pride in a +16 win over UVic in their last match.
CW bring Tom Davidson into second row which shifts Nick Carson to #8 and Mike Finnemore to #6. CW are missing Gradyn Bowd this week so shift #9 Zeck Pilgrim to #10 and Keegan Hall gets the start at scrum half. Mike Fuailefau and Ollie Nott are missing from the centres and coming in are Matt Sutherland and Sion Griffiths. Hugh Mager takes Griffiths spot on the wing. Another player looking to make the Canada cut for Spain, Josiah Morra is in the reserves.
The Pride have also added a player looking to travel to Spain, Tyler Rowland, at tighthead. There’s some rotation among the forwards, coming off the bench this week for starting roles are Jaiden John, Sam Mace, Ben James. Mark Balaski gets his first start this season at #10, he’s from the Connacht Academy in Ireland and first shows up in our database for the Pride in the 2021 Coastal Cup, he played a couple of matches in February 2022 for the Pride but our records don’t show much more. Matt Klimchuk is another Canada possible selection for Spain.
With Gradyn Bowd missing from CW at #10 and Mark Balaski getting his first start for the Pride at #10, this could be a key aspect of the matchup. Tyler Rowland at tighthead should have impact and what will Josiah Morra bring off the bench? Should be an entertaining match.
Prediction: Pride by 3.
CW
1 John Braddock
2 Jace Peters
3 Denver Fatt
4 Nat Dring
5 Tom Davidson
6 Mike Finnemore
7 Steve Pyke
8 Nick Carson
9 Keegan Hall
10 Zech Pilgrim
11 Gabriel Smith
12 Matt Sutherland
13 Sion Griffiths
14 Hugh Mager
15 Jack Shaw
16 Antonio Corbin
17 Gavin Kratz
18 Conor McKenzie
19 Ayo Ogunlabe
20 Jack Wallace
21 Marshall Stove
22 Josiah Morra
23 Will Nemeth
Pride
1 Sam Miller
2 Sam Mace
3 Tyler Rowland
4 Jaiden John
5 Karl Hunger
6 Braden Bruce
7 Ben James
8 Matt Klimchuk
9 Jesse Kilgour
10 Mark Balaski
11 AJ Kosemple
12 Noah Flesch
13 Liam Poulton
14 Ian Jones
15 James Thiel
16 Austin Creighton
17 Theo Espagnol
18 Spencer Cooper
19 Alistair Bruce
20 Reid Davis
21 Paddy Kirwan
22 Kyle Tremblay
23 Rhys James
Westshore 38 v Meraloma 40 @ 14:30
Referee: Saro Turner AR1: Andrew Owen AR2: Al Humphries
Venue: Juan De Fuca
An entertaining match that featured Kenyan flair from the Westshore side and a well structured attack from the Lomas side. It was a back and forth match that entertained fans for 80 minutes. We’ll have match photos to post later. Next weekend Westshore visits CW and the Lomas host Capilano.
Photos (44) are at nationalrugbynews.com
PREGAME
Westshore had a bye in Week 1 while the Lomas defeated the Ravens in a comprehensive +19 win. Last time these teams met in November 2022 it was one way traffic with the Lomas winning 62-5. Westshore didn’t manage a win that season and finished last in the standings. It looks to be a much improved team this season and they have already notched preseason wins against JBAA and CW.
The Lomas have one change in the front row with Conor Turley starting at tighthead. The second row sees Brian Hayden come off the bench to start and Giovanni Guizzetti move from #8 to second row. Ethan Jaques is the only loose forward to retain his starting role from last week. The halfback combination of Hurst and Weatherall remains the same, and in the backline Conrad Kuita replaces James McTurk.
Westshore are missing their MLR trio of Foster Dewitt, Emerson Prior and Quinn Ngawati for this match. That will impact performance. They retain their Kenyan connection with Alvin Otieno at #8, Johnston Olindi at #10 and speed on the outside with Nelson Oyoo and Jeff Oluoch. Kane Perrett is a tighthead from NZ who played at Spotswood with BC players Izzak Kelly, Jacob Bossi and Noah Bain. Former national team player Admir Cejvanovic is in the reserves.
Expecting this to be a competitive match and much closer than last year.
Prediction: Lomas by 6.
Meraloma
1 Mark Rickard
2 Scott Bowers
3 Conor Turley
4 Brian Hayden
5 Giovanni Guizzetti
6 Gil Cann-Vaana
7 Ethan Jaques
8 Jalan Farris
9 Pete Hurst
10 Monty Weatherall
11 Dewi Williams
12 Joe Thomas
13 Conrad Kuita
14 Keith Graham
15 Louis Whellan
16 Max Graham-Shoad
17 Geoff Brooks
18 TBC
19 Aaron Hickey
20 Ollie Branigan
21 Trent Ormsby
22 Jad Hamade
23 TBC
Westshore
1 Justin Tasse
2 Brian Waraba
3 Kane Perrett
4 Matt Weir
5 Nathan Groenewold
6 Matt Evans
7 Tom Heuser
8 Alvin Otieno
9 Yuya Kimura
10 Johnstone Olindi
11 Nelson Oyoo
12 Darian Morrison
13 Braedan Bespalko
14 Jeff Oluoch
15 Jacob Brown
16 Simeon John
17 Harrison Langi
18 Parker Smith
19 Quinn Baak
20 Admir Cejvanovic
21 Liam Clark
22 Seth Recalma
23 Alex Mentiply
University Of Victoria 36 v Capilano 7 @ 14:30
Referee: Julianne Zussman AR1: Rose LaBrèche AR2: Derek Horton (Pending)
Venue: U Of Victoria- Wallace Field
UVic are on a roll, taking down the #1 University side UBC last week and putting up the points against a strong Capilano side this week. They seem to be peaking for the University championships coming up next month. The Vikes have a return match with UBC next weekend at UBC, that will be worth watching. The Caps visit the Lomas.
PREGAME
UVic defeated UBC in their last match but the BCRU aren’t showing that as counting in the BC Premier standings. We’ve asked BCRU for an update on that and BCRU confirms it was Coastal Cup. Capilano lost to Burnaby last weekend.
UVic keep Brent Hamberg as loosehead prop but rotate the other front row positions from the reserves with Marshall and Moller starting. Muiredach Casey isn’t in the roster and Alex Gordon starts in the second row. Henry Down comes off the bench to start at #7, a rotation at scrum half with Ethan Smith getting the start this week. Graeme Norris moves from the reserves to starting wing and Dylan Cleaver gets the start at fullback.
It was a tight +5 win for the Vikes when these two teams last met in October 2022.
Prediction: Vikes by 5.
UVic
1 Brent Hamberg
2 Jack Marshall
3 Phoenix Moller
4 Merlin M’Cloud
5 Alex Gordon
6 Tucker Nadeau
7 Henry Down
8 Jaxson Jones
9 Ethan Smith
10 Rhys Patterson
11 Graeme Norris
12 Andrew Easson
13 Shane Rikley-Krindle
14 Morgan Di Nardo
15 Dylan Cleaver
16 Jordy Auger
17 Nic Willey
18 Owen Kokan
19 Brendan Kim
20 Ryder Heaney-Corns
21 Chris Gamage
22 Lockhart MacGregor
23 Marcus Lott
Capilano
1 James Ritzema
2 Ethan McCarthy
3 Mackenzie Mills
4 Nick Pearce
5 Armin Teimoori
6 Flynn Heyes
7 Jason DeFreitas
8 Reid Brookes
9 Chris Robinson
10 Mike Moloney
11 Matt Nicol
12 Johnny Franklin (C)
13 Cam Waddell
14 Mahyar Hosseini
15 Josh Wang
16 Keita Dueck
17 Jesse Ryan
18 Joe Britt
19 Sam Eifler
20 TBD
21 Brandon Power
22 Ben Cameron
23 Casey Paddock
UBCOB Ravens 42 v UBC 24 @ 14:30
Referee: Benjamin Lambrick AR1: Bradley Schwalger AR2: Lola Vaaranpaa
Venue: Jericho Beach Park
UBC run up two losses in a row, that hasn’t happened in a while. The Ravens with a comprehensive +18 win. Next week the Ravens host the Bays while UBC host the Vikes.
PREGAME
Two teams usually at the top of the standings needing a win to avoid going 0-2. The Ravens won the last matchup in October 2022 by +8 28-20.
The Ravens have moved Aaron McLelland to the #10 spot and moved Harjun Gill to second receiver at #12. Grant Crowell has returned and starts at #8. Andrew Coe gets the start, so at least five players suiting up this week who are on the Canada long list for Spain.
UBC are the last team to post their roster this week, very unusual for them. One question is will Izzak Kelly suit up, some Canada players are being pulled, some are playing as usual, and some are being inserted into rosters for the first time.
It’s almost 5pm and still no sign of the UBC roster on social media so we’ll go ahead and post last week’s roster vs UVic and update later. Update UBC roster posted and Izzak Kelly is starting, bringing to 6 the number of Canada long list players taking the field this weekend.
It should be a close match between these two rivals, UBC losing to UVic last week and dropping from #1 to #2 in University Rankings, plus their uncharacteristic lapse in posting rosters are not positive signs.
Prediction: Ravens by 2.
Ravens
1 Yo Hasegawa
2 Jesse Mackail
3 Kaleb Whitelaw
4 Frank Carson
5 Don Carson
6 Matthew Chan
7 David O’Donoghue
8 Grant Crowell
9 Billy Wickham
10 Aaron McLelland
11 Tsugunosuke Hirai
12 Harjun Gill
13 Andrew Coe
14 Cole Keffer
15 Nicholas Blain
16 Riku Conrad
17 Josh Tweed
18 Armin Gurdic
19 Joe Locke
20 Henry Bibby
21 Jack Scher
22 David Thompson
UBC
1 Koen Buckingham
2 Jacob Bossi
3 Payton Teneycke
4 Izzak Kelly
5 Hillyard Carson
6 Sol Jacques
7 Callum Brown
8 Relmu Wilson-Valdes
9 Jacob Bourne
10 James Biss
11 Jared Andrews Almack
12 Kieran Martin
13 Talon McMullin
14 Niko Andrianos
15 Takoda McMullin
16 Emmet Allen
17 Raymond Chou
18 Graham Francolini
19 Joe McNulty
20 Sandon Gupta
21 Stephen Webb
22 Caleb Seumanutafa
23 Brady Reeleder