Capilano RFC match reports: CW and Kats at Klahanie
from Capilano Rugby
CW vs Capilano – Premier Men
The undefeated [ 5-0] Castaway Wanderers came to Klahanie park Saturday March 19 for a match against middle of the pack [2-2] Capilano RFC.
The records of the teams indicated CW would have to be favoured, but in this league it’s wise to take into account who each team has played up to this week.
So with all that in mind and taking into account that each team was missing some influential players, it looked to be a tight one. Unfortunately for CW, it was tight at the half, but Caps pulled away in the last 20 minutes to make the winning margin perhaps a little more than the play would indicate. The final score ended 42-12 for Capilano and they were full value on this day.
Caps # 10 Jeremy Simon played a large role with 17 points coming of his kicking shoe. As well, any time Caps were in a spot of bother, he managed to extricate them with a well placed clearance.
CW played a hard game and seemed a bit unlucky at times, but just couldn’t find the momentum to keep their drives alive.
Caps on the other hand took advantage of a few mistakes and turned them into points.
The game started evenly but after some hard graft in the midfield area, Caps # 15 Phil Le Lievre took a nice pass and sprinted in from about the CW 22. No convert 5-0 Caps at the 5 min. mark. Caps got 3 more with a PK from Simon at 15 minutes to make it 8-0 Caps. At 18 min. CW opened their account with a Moses like parting of the sea that had their ball carrier run up the middle unscathed for a fiver. With extras 8-7 Caps.
Then at 21 minutes Simon saw an opportunity to execute a perfect drop kick from distance to make it 11-7 Caps. The 25 min. mark saw Caps #9 Chris Robinson size up a CW pass near the sideline, steal it and race 30 meters into the CW end zone. With extras 18-7 Caps at the half.
If CW was going to mount a comeback, they started it on the right foot as at the 47 min. mark they took the ball out of their scrum and had the ball over the whitewash to make the score 18-12 Caps and still anybody’s game.
Then came what looked to be game changing play. CW were in trouble in their end zone and tried to run it out. The CW ball carrier got to his 5 meter line and was leveled with a very hard hit that dislodged the ball and the Caps # 1 Neil Courtney bulled it over for the start of Caps taking over. With extras now 25-12 Caps
Caps slotted another PK to make it 28-12 and the CW lads were fighting an uphill battle. Caps scored two more tries from #12 Cam Waddell and LeLeivre that were both converted to make the final 42-12 Caps.
A well played hard hitting game that had the spectators off their seats for much of it. I thought the Caps forwards played an exceptional game to neutralize a solid CW pack. Strong team effort for the Caps.
Thanks to the Wanderers
Thanks to the ref and touch judges.
Steve Feenstra
Three very exciting games today at Klahanie. What a great way to spend a late morning and afternoon. The weather co-operated and it was full sunshine. The first game started at 11.30 on the top pitch where the high flying Kats played the struggling Capilano 3rd side.
The 3rd Division game: This turned out to be a hard fought win for Capilano 21-20
The Kats were once a power house of BC Rugby. They won many top division and second division championships and placed many players on the Vancouver and BC Rep teams that were the Canadian Champions when BC Rugby ruled the country. That was long ago! The late great Capilano, Billy Gerwing and his two brothers were Kats. Howard Gerwing coached U-Vic and has a trophy named after him. Kats were well funded by ex players and supporters and owned a nice house in Kitsilano.
They are, and have been for many years a one team club. They play in the 3rd Division and are always a tough team to play. Today was no exception. The Capilano 3rds have struggled with player numbers but today fielded their best team to date. Kats went up on the scoreboard with two well taken tries by their center number 13. They were getting most of the play but I could feel that Caps were battling hard and could possibly keep it closer today unlike the blowouts that they have taken in previous matches. Kats place kicker was having an off day and he missed the conversions. Kats got 15 points with 3 tries then, while the home team only managed to answer with one converted try. Both teams were taking too many penalties and the referee struggled to keep the game orderly which he did by constantly speaking to both captains. I counted six infractions in a row by Kats in the first half and wondered when they would be binned.
Capilano had a player binned for a hit on the Kats scrum half and Kats ran in another try to make it 20-7. Late in the game Kats were still getting penalties and two props were binned for minor infractions. The Caps were now at full strength and the scored again and the conversion made it a 6 point differential. There wasnt much time left and Caps got away on a long break and scored in the corner. It was now a one point game and Caps Joe Britt kicked it through to make it 21-20 for Caps. The Capilano players were thrilled and Kats of course who led throughout most of the match were not! It was a very exciting game to watch and was clean and hard fought. Congratulations to the Capilano 3rd team on the victory and thanks to Kats for the game. Thanks also to the referee who put in a hard shift.
John Langley
Caps Women Eager for a Rematch
Capilano opened the scoring through brilliant work in the backs creating a line break for Flora Poole. The forwards worked around well Gillian Boag shed off three tacklers to score. Discipline was an issue for the Caps with 3 penalties in a row, allowing Castaway’s some good territory. CW’s 9 took a quick tap on the third penalty to put Caps on their back foot, chasing, as they scored Castaway’s first try.
Capilano did not let off the gas as Captain Nicola Jones took a pop off the ground from Jayne Isherwood to make it 10-7. Just minutes later Savannah Bacchus used their speed and power down the wing for Capilano’s third try. Jayne Isherwood’s conversion attempts 0 for 3 making the score 15-7 for Capilano.
Great defensive work from Capilano was making it hard for CW to get into their half. Castaways did eventually build some good pressure and while the Caps put on strong goal-line defense, it was the penalties again that allowed for a quick tap try. Conversion successful the score was 15-14 after 30 minutes of play.
Capilano’s connection showed well on the field as the team was offloading and supporting well throughout the game. These offloads in the forwards allowed Gillian Boag to break free and score her second try of the match. After this, CW changed their restart plan trying to go short to retain possession; the kick ended up short giving Capilano an ideal attacking position with a scrum at center field. Capilano worked their way down the field with calm, controlled play. Christina Burnham spotted some space on the blind side of the ruck, 5 meters out, and backed their speed to get Capilanos fifth try. A great first half had Capilano up 27-14.
The second half started in Capilanos favour with another restart kick going short. Capilano kept to their game plan and worked their way down the field into CW’s 22. This time it was the Cap’s turn to take advantage of the quick tap as Nicola Jones tapped and headed towards the try line. A CW high tackle on Nicola allowed Gill Boag to take it quick again to score her third try right under the posts.
A bit of fatigue slowed down Capilano and once again a quick tap right by the Caps 5 meter allowed CW to dot another one over; bringing the score to 34-21. Capilano’s defensive effort this weekend is something worth mentioning – the team was consistently making positive tackles, turning over rucks, and not giving up on last-ditch try-saving efforts. This defensive pressure resulted in several turnovers. A CW lineout on their own 22 left a lot of ground between them and Capilanos try line. A brilliant couple of tackles by the Caps backs resulted in a switch of possession within 10 meters of the try line. Gillian Boag tipped the ball to Jayne Isherwood who found theirself in open space heading towards the try line. Converting their own try, that brought the score to 41-21 for Caps. The final 20 minutes of the game required a lot of grit and determination from the Caps as their bodies began to fatigue. Play began to get a little messy and Castaways took advantage of the broken play to put two tries on the board with their speed down the wing. The score was 41-33 – another one of Castaway’s flyers sped down the wing to score on the right-hand side of the posts. A successful conversion finished the game off at 41-40 for Capilano.
Thanks to Castaway Wanderers, the referees, and the fans for a beautiful day of rugby.
Jayne Isherwood