BC Premier Week 2 Results: UBC Drop Capilano, Burnaby Edge Bays, Westshore Win at Ravens, CW Fall at Meraloma – Coastal Cup and University Qualifier UVic Dominate at TWU
There are four BC Premier matches this weekend as teams bring back players from last season and introduce new players. The playing strength of the teams for the full season ahead is still fluid and the results this weekend will give a better idea of what lies ahead. Some national team players, XVs and 7s, start to filter in Andrew Coe, Rhys James, Kyle Tremblay, Kaden Duguid, Ethan Turner, Izzak Kelly, Talon McMullin, Jack Shaw, Noah Bain weren’t seen in Week 1. Also the Coastal Cup and University Qualifier between the Vikes and TWU kicks off with Cooper Coats getting his first start with the Vikes.
Capilano 21 v UBC 41 @ 14:30
Referee: Bradley Schwalger AR1: Lance Davison AR2: Mark Abercrombie
Venue: Klahanie Park
UBC won the match but the BCRU site was saying 17-5, the UBC social media is saying 41-21. We’re going with the UBC account as the BCRU results system is so messed up, it really needs to be fixed. It was also giving the W in the table to Capilano but it goes to UBC. Next week UBC host UVic in the second leg of the Wightman Boot, the match is also part of the University Championship qualification series between UVic, UBC and TWU. Caps visit the Ravens.
PREGAME
Both teams coming off wins in their last match, UBC over UVic and Caps over Lomas.
UBC make some adjustments, I’m guessing they’re testing out various combinations in the build up to the National University Championships in November. Relmu Wilson-Valdes goes back to his regular position of #8 and Cody Nhanala will come in from the reserves, Sandon Gupta takes his place in the second row. UBC are trying out a new #10, Caleb Seumanutafa, with James Biss in the reserves. Their Australian openside, Aiden Sutherland, gets the start this week. Talon McMullin returns at inside centre after repping Canada.
The Caps have Izzak Kelly back in the second row, moving Ryan Hickey to blindside flanker. Johnny Franklin comes off the bench to start at outside centre.
The Caps have the home field advantage but the T-Birds have a deep bench with the likes of Cody Nhanala and James Biss ready to impact the match, plus Talon McMullin returns as second receiver. Prediction: UBC by +5.
Sean’s Prediction: The UBC Thunderbirds to win by 8. Top of the University coaches standings I expect them to win against Capilano.
UBC (Sept 20/current)
1 Jacob BLACKWOOD
2 Ethan McCarthy
3 Graeme FRANCOLINI
4 Relmu WILSON-VALDES (C) / Sandon Gupta
5 Joe MCNULTY
6 Liam KINGHORN / Callum Arnesen
7 Callum Arnesen / Aiden Sutherland
8 Cody NHANALA / Relmu WILSON-VALDES
9 Stephen Webb
10 James BISS / Caleb Seumanutafa
11 Demitri Patterson
12 Liam Turnbull / Talon McMullin
13 Alastair MARSHALL / Liam Turnbull
14 Liam James / Max McGavern
15 Ben BEAUCHAMP / Liam James
16 Josh du Toit
17 James Mahaffy
18 Charlie CLARK
19 Sandon Gupta / Liam Kinghorn
20 Aidan Sutherland / Cody Nhanala
21 Ben Martin
22 Niko Andrianos / James Biss
23 Max McGavern / Ben Beauchamp
24 Alastair Marshall
Capilano (Sept 13/current)
1 Josh Leeks / Hussein Khadr
2 Jacob Bossi
3 Arsalan Schaigan
4 Ryan Hickey / Reid Yurkowski
5 Reid Yurkowski / Izzak Kelly
6 Nick Pearce / Ryan Hickey
7 Cam Tanner
8 Teancum Tuiali
9 Toby Horn
10 Wade Jansen
11 Austin James
12 Ryan Leskiw
13 Caleb Kingi / Johnny Franklin
14 Cam Waddell
15 Mike Moloney
16 Angus Walker / Nate Bolton
17 Hussein Khadr / Josh Leeks
18 Blair Twaddell
19 Hamish MacDonald / Riley Canning
20 Callum Steer / Nick Pearce
21 Johnny Franklin / Hamish MacDonald
22 Seamus O’Sullivan / Jack Wise
23 Chris Robinson / Ben Taylor
James Bay AA 24 v Burnaby Lake 29 @ 14:30
Referee: Cole Pedrick AR1: Justine Blatt-Janmaat AR2: Juan Pablo Rey
Venue: James Bay AA- MacDonald Park
Burnaby with the +5 win bringing their record to 1 win, 1 draw in the season. The Bays drop to 1 win, 1 loss. The Bays host Westshore next week and Burnaby visit the Lomas.
PREGAME
The Bays upset Ravens in their last match and sit top of the standings, Burnaby drew with a top UBC side to claim 3 points.
Burnaby have only a few changes, the big news is Ethan Turner is back at fullback. Kimi Vunituraga comes off the bench to start at outside centre, moving Luke Toroca to the wing. Some new names on the bench, of particular interest Wayne Ngubane who was a South African Rugby Academy U20 player in 2017, assuming it’s the same player.
The Bays haven’t changed their starting XV, why would you after upsetting last year’s champions in your previous match.
Still trying to figure out the relative strengths of the teams this season. Both teams exceeded early expectations last time out. Giving the slight edge to Burnaby. Prediction: Burnaby by +3.
Sean’s Prediction: James Bay athletic association surprised me last week with the win that they had. I expect them to win again this week. JBAA by +7.
Burnaby (Sept 13/current)
1 Luka Bradley
2 James Kelly
3 Bryce Worden
4 Leo Chen
5 John Southern
6 Clinton Odhiambo / David Dinbandhu
7 David Dinbandhu / Clinton Odhiambo
8 Jarod Byrnes
9 Anthony Carroll
10 Napolioni Bolaca
11 Stu Jamieson / Kyle Corrigan
12 Tevita Daugunu
13 Luke Toroca / Kimi Vunituraga
14 Kyle Corrigan / Luke Toroca
15 Ethan Dromgool / Ethan Turner
16 Joel Abdel-Barr / Chase McCrum
17 Iain Kennell-Webb / Grayson Hardie
18 Dylan Vermette
19 Cooper Johnston / Dresden Martin
20 Jonah Fridfinnson
21 Kimi Vunituraga / Woods Sharman
22 Reid Watkins / Sione Fine
23 Wayne Ngubane
James Bay (Sept 13/current)
1) Sam Miller
2) Neil Trainor
3) Riley Lloyd
4) Austin Hutchcroft
5) Harrison Archdekin
6) Jacob Griffin
7) Brendyn Beck
8) Alex Jordan
9) Tom Burton
10) Ty Driscoll
11) Jeremiah Gonevou
12) Mike Nieuwenhuysen
13) Isaac Gonevou
14) Mostyn Findlay
15) Craig Mitchell-Hermann
16) Wyatt Pilz
17) Dakota Lachance / Julian Gauld
18) Julian Gauld / Carter Haddow
19) Georgiy Sinyakin / Dakota Lachance
20) Tyler Grom / Joeli Gonevou
21) Mark Yuen
22) Malik James
23) Joeli Gonevou / Walter Somers
Meraloma 40 v Castaway Wanderers 39 @ 14:30
Referee: Benjamin Lambrick AR1: Pierre Iachetti AR2: Marcus Treacy
Venue: Connaught Park
A +1 win for the home team in a game we thought would be a toss up. The Lomas record is 1 win, 1 loss and CW drops to 2 losses but with 3 bonus points. Next week the Lomas host Burnaby and CW have a bye.
PREGAME
Both teams lost their opener, Lomas to Caps and CW to Westshore.
CW have Nat Dring back at second row and Gavin Kratz at prop, Jack Shaw starts on the wing.
The Lomas have Conor O’Brien back in the second row, and Malachi King at outside centre.
Both teams have a fairly stable starting XV but a lot of changes on the bench as they look to find the right combinations early in the season. A bit of a toss up but I’ll say edge to CW. Prediction: CW by +2.
Sean’s Prediction: Meraloma although losing last week, I still think they’re the stronger side against CW so expect them to get it done by 7 points.
CW (Sept 13/current)
1 Fred Regan / Alex McCallum
2 Antonio Corbin
3 Jace Peters / Gavin Kratz
4 Ayo Ogunlabe / Nat Dring
5 John Humphries / Ayo Ogunlabe
6 Mike Finnemore
7 Lucas Okano
8 Dafydd Thomas
9 Zech Pilgrim
10 Andrew Easson
11 Seth Purdey / Jack Shaw
12 Jordan Tait
13 Shane Rikley-Krindle
14 AJ Kosempel
15 Angus Boyd-Porter
16 Jack Sponarski / Pearce Reimer
17 Aiden Cole / Dan Hall
18 Jack McCann / Sam Johnston
19 Sam Johnston / Jack Goss
20 Nat Dring / Chris Gamage
21 Chris Gamage / Marshall Stove
22 George Vorster / Hugh Mager
23 Hugh Mager / TBD
Meraloma (Sept 13/current)
1 Andy McMeel
2 Corey Hughes
3 Tom Webb
4 Craig Trimble
5 Jordan Quinn / Conor O’Brien
6 Sam Lyon
7 Elijah Corbett
8 Jalan Farris (c)
9 Luc Thompson / Alex Tagg
10 Joe Wilde
11 Keith Graham
12 Corne Ludick / Kenny Saito
13 Kenny Saito / Malachi King
14 Quinten Coetsee
15 Ben Shaw / Charlie Greaves
16 Mark Rickard
17 Bradley Milton / Corne Ludick
18 James Adams / Geoff Brooks
19 Alex Tagg / Ryker Bisset
20 Tyus Dimbleby / Ed Matthews
21 Eoin Long / Marcus Ale
22 Ted O’Leary / Tyus Dimbleby
23 TBA / Ben Pope
UBCOB Ravens 26 v Westshore 29 @ 14:30
Referee: Chris Assmus AR1: Phil Webster AR2: John Bay
Venue: Jericho Beach Park
Another tight match with Westshore prevailing with a +3 win. The Ravens drop to 0-2 but have 3 bonus point, Westshore sits top of the table at 2-0 and 10 points. Next week Westshore visits James Bay and the Ravens host Capilano.
PREGAME
Ravens lost their opener, Westshore won their opening match against CW.
Westshore have an updated second row with Aidan Holland and Joe Kingham returning from last season. Seth Recalma moves to blindside flanker. They have a strong 10 to 15 with the addition of Rhys James and Kyle Tremblay. Kaden Duguid is added to the reserves to make a forwards impact later in the match.
Ravens have been busy getting players back, Noah Bain returns and Andrew Coe is the big name returning at #15. In the front row Josh Tweed returns at prop and Riku Konrad comes over from TWU.
Should be a competitive match both teams have upgraded from Week 1. Prediction: Westshore by +2.
Sean’s Predictions: Ravens let me down last week but I’m giving them a second chance to do the job over Westshore by 3.
Westshore (Sept 13/current )
1 Kane Perrett
2 Andrew McNabb
3 Simeon John
4 Charles Taimani / Aidan Holland
5 Seth Recalma / Joe Kingham
6 Daragh Carroll / Seth Recalma
7 Brian Ndirangu / Daragh Carroll
8 Elias Hancock
9 Josh Nordstrom
10 Mark Balaski
11 Johnstone Olindi / Nelson Oyoo
12 Jeff Olouch
13 Thomas Isherwood
14 Nelson Oyoo / Kyle Tremblay
15 Jimmy Wilson-Bishop / Rhys James
16 Matt Evans
17 Bob McKay / Keegan Smales
18 Aidan McCleary / Kaden Duguid
19 Matt Weir / Brian Ndirangu
20 Darian Morrison / Matt Weir
21 Braiden Bespalko / Taylor McGuire
22 Alex Mentiply / Payton Gibson
23 TBA / Finn Hussey
Ravens (Sept 13/current)
1 Louis Kassapian / Josh Tweed
2 Isaiah Harrison / Riku Konrad
3 Saman Rezapour
4 Frank Carson / Don Carson
5 Hillyard Carson / Frank Carson
6 Don Carson / Louis Kassapian
7 Sean Beckett
8 Joe Locke
9 Billy Wickham / Cole Keffer
10 Santi Guadarrama / Gio Sangiorgi
11 David Thompson / Jean Fish
12 Tsugo Hirai
13 Hamish Janes
14 Cole Keffer / Noah Bain
15 Jean Fish / Andrew Coe
16 Grant Madu / Isaiah Harrison
17 Kaleb Whitelaw
18 Mo Abujamous / Noah King
19 Ciaran Murphy / Aga Ligamy
20 Kelepi Gucake
21 Marceau Bertin
22 Cam Lyman / Jacob Bourne
23 Gio Sangiorgi / Mark Wandeto
Trinity Western University 19 v University Of Victoria 57 @ 14:30
Referee: Nathaniel Hight AR1: John Hight AR2: Elijah Lockington
Venue: Yorkson Community Park
An emphatic win by UVic on the road, with one foot through the door in achieving qualification for the National University Championship. They’ll host the second round in the home and away series on October 18th. The Vikes visit UBC next weekend and a win or draw there would almost ensure their qualification.
PREGAME
An important match for both teams, not BC Premier but counts towards the Coastal Cup and is an important National University Championship qualifier. It looks like UBC will qualify and now either Vikes or TWU depending on their home and away series, this is the first leg.
UVic have Cooper Coats moved to starting #10, and Michael Oughtred has been moved to fullback. Dylan Cleaver and Alex Gamage get the start on the wings and there’s no change in the forwards.
TWU haven’t release their roster at the time of writing, we’ll update later.
UVic (Sept 20/current)
1 Phoenix Moller
2 Jordy Auger
3 Nic Willey
4 Muiredach Casey
5 Brendan Kim
6 Sully Curran
7 Adam Doane
8 Ryder Heaney-Corns
9 Reece Thompson
10 Michael Oughtred / Cooper Coats
11 Keegan Neary / Dylan Cleaver
12 Mason Levin
13 Morgan di Nardo
14 Thoron Koyote / Alex Gamage
15 Alex Gamage / Michael Oughtred
16 Jack Marshall / Milo McDonald
17 Kale Jones / Jack Marshall
18 Alex Gordon / Carter Ebrahim
19 Josh Petrov
20 Aiden de Witt / Jaxson Jones
21 Dylan Cleaver / Aiden de Witt
22 Cooper Coats / Jack Penaluna
23 Marcus Lott
TWU
TBA
Is there any truth that some of the national 15 and 7s player feel that by limiting the top player from playing in the Premier league, it therefore lowering the talent and skill level will affect their development. These national 15 and 7s player, after playing at the international level and then coming back to play at a self imposed mediocre lower level? I can see why they feel this way, after playing at the international level, these high performance 15 and 7s player want to play at the highest level, why should they move down in talent and skill level to beat on average players. The national player want to maintain and continue to develop against the best. Just hearsay until the national players put in on record instead of locker room talk.
For all the Debbie Downers, what is you response to this:
Aaron McLelland, New Zealander came to play in the BC Premier League, arguably the best player in the league. How many time have other players commented that imported player makes the league better and everybody has to get better even the Canadian player who want to represent Canada. Instead of a thumbs down. Respond with a critical discussion
Disappointing to see the decline in quality of journalism on this site. James Bay by 7?
Stick to Instagram
Huddy Huddy.
It would be a fair point The “Truth”, if the new rules had had a significant impact on the team selections. If it were applied last year, bearing in mind that domestic players are those Canada eligible, not just Canadian, supposedly only one club would have exceeded the new import limits. So what lowering of the level, exactly? What players have been pushed out by this rule? And if they have, presumably they are, at best, the 8th best player for their side? So there are still potentially fully 7 top class import players still playing? There is no rule excluding all import players, so there’s little point highlighting individual players – there are still opportunities for more such players.
I don’t have an opinion on the rule and am undecided still if it is good or bad, and whether it should be part of a short, medium or long term plan, but let’s at least look at the supposed impact in real terms, not feelings.