Capilano RFC Match Reports: Men’s Premier, Div 1, Div 3 vs UBC and Women’s Div 2 vs Comox
from Capilano RFC
Premier Men by Steve Feenstra
The contest between the T-Birds and Caps turned out to be a thriller that had a bit of everything. Hard hits, shifty side line running, bad tempers, a thirty- or forty-minute delay in the first half and a deluge in the second half. Something for everybody.
UBC took a half time lead of 19-17 and extended the score to 31-20 at the final hooter. The game was as close as the score indicates with the Birds scoring a late try to quell any thoughts of a comeback from the Caps.
The game stated with a bang for the team in solid white with the blue trim. A try shortly after the game started at the 1-minute mark gave the Birds the lead with the extras 7-0.
The Caps buckled down and took the game to the Birds and were rewarded with a PK to open their account at the 6-minute mark and make the score 7-3 Birds . The T-Birds then put in some heavy shifts of their own to win a shot at the posts but no joy as the ball sailed wide. UBC did get their scoreboard ticking over with another try off a lineout and three passes that after the extras made it 14-3 Birds.
UBC was starting to have more possession until Caps #9 Chris Robinson intercepted a pass and sprinted 30 metres to dot down and breathe some life back into the Caps. With the convert the lead was narrowed to 14-10 Birds.
Back came the Birds at the 17-minute mark with a scrum win, 3 nice passes and a trot over the whitewash. No extras 19-10 Birds.
Then the game took a few twists and turns. First, Caps # 12 Mike Moloney, was deemed to be tackled in a manner which earned the UBC backline player a yellow. Generally, the game moves on and everyone gets over it, and so it seemed as play resumed after a long break.
At 30 minutes Caps # 3 Neil Courtney did the heavy lifting and Glen McKinnon pushed the ball over the Birds line that with the convert made it 19-17 Birds which remained the score until half time.
The second half was a nasty affair that saw a lapse in discipline from both teams which then had the match officials conferencing for a long time.
At the 49-minute mark the Birds scrum cruised over the Cap line easily to add 5 plus 2 with the convert to make it 26-17 for the Birds. The huge UBC push was aided by 3 Caps in the bin with yellows, with the Birds having one in the bin with a yellow.
At 63-minutes Caps did pot another PK to make it 26-20. At this point I have to say that Caps #10 Jeremy Simon kicked his socks off again. PK’s, converts, kicking for touch while under pressure, he is fun to watch and easy to cheer for.
The score stayed this way with the game in the balance until the 79-minute mark when the Birds took a line out win and again passed it to the Cap goal line and dotted down. No extras final score 31-20 for UBC.
First and foremost, we hope the Caps Mike Moloney and Jason de Freitas both have speedy recoveries from injuries.
Also, thanks to UBC for hosting
And lastly thanks to the match officials
2nd Division Women by Jayne Isherwood
Surprise Snow Encounter – Caps win 43 – 25
The Capilano Women 2nds were in action this weekend against the Comox Valley Kickers. Caps were down a player as Karina Christiansen was yellow-carded in the first minutes of the match. While everyone was expecting a wet rainy encounter – the teams were surprised with quite a bit of snow.
Arden Tempest ran right through the Comox defense and touched the ball down for the first try of the game. The next Caps try came through Savannah Bacchus who took a quick tap so fast Comox could only turn and watch her run in for the try. Savannah came through to score a second try two minutes later. The snow kept coming down and a lot more slipping and sliding caused the play to tighten up with both teams hammering carries up the middle of the pitch.
The first quarter proved to be a tight encounter with Comox taking advantage of their speed to run in several tries. Having allowed a few too many tries for the team’s liking the Capilano women went back to their basics and focused on strong structured play with upped communication.
The second quarter went by in a flash with some big hits coming in from Lara Macfarlane. Danielle Fearns injected some much-needed pace adding two tries to the score sheet. Suhad Mardikian made a triumphant return to rugby after a two-year hiatus scoring, tackling, and incredible ball carries earned her the Back of the Match from Comox. Karina Christiansen finished the scoring for caps with a try right under the post – making the conversion for Jayne Isherwood a cinch.
With player welfare and safety concerns being discussed as the snow kept on coming down – everyone agreed to stop the game after the third quarter. Thanks to Comox for a great game and the referee for withstanding the weather. Huge thanks to the Capilano fans that showed up and stuck it out to cheer us on! The Capilano Women 2nds will be in action again this weekend, March 5th, against Brit-Lions.
3rd Division Men by John Langley
The 3rd Division Capilano men played UBC and lost 47-27. It was mutually agreed to play 12 a side as both teams were a bit thin on players. It was an open competitive session and was close until the late part of the second half when superior fitness of the students became evident and they ran in several late tries to win going away. For Capilano it was a good effort and Brad Wightman had a good outing. Jose Santiago did some good running for Caps and then spared for the 1st Division. This Caps side should have some better days ahead but could use a few more players. Thanks to UBC and thanks to the referee.
The 1st Division Match was won by UBC 53-22 by John Langley
It was a bit of a disappointing outing for the 1st Side after the exciting come from behind win against Burnaby in their last outing. Today they started alright but UBC took the game over with strong running by their number 12 and 13 who did a lot of damage to the Caps aided by some poor tackling. It looked like it would be a long afternoon but Caps did rally late in the game and managed to put in some late scores. Matt Nichol, Joe Britt and Jose Santiago notched tries for Capilano. Matt Nichol looked good offensively for Caps in the backline. This Cap side can and hopefully will play better than they did today. Congratulations to UBC and thanks to the referee.