A longer than planned bus trip from United to Kamloops resulted in a delayed kickoff to the BC Women’s Division 1 action this past Saturday.
Thankfully it was a sunny day at Exhibition Park, and after the delay, the KRC Senior Women kicked off to the visiting United Rugby Club.
While the coastal leagues in BC wrap up their season in May, the interior leagues just get started. About 32 clubs in the Greater Vancouver/Lower Mainland area and Vancouver Island compete in seven leagues from September to May. Kamloops and Kelowna from the Thompson/Okanagan region are the outliers in those competitions. There are 10 teams that compete from May to August in what has been known as the Saratoga Cup. Those teams are from the Okanagan, Kootenays and Central Interior regions. Such is the reality of climate in BC where southern coastal regions get a winter climate similar to NZ/UK while the interior gets a traditional Canadian winter.
The KRC Senior Women versus Bayside was the lone fixture at Exhibition Park this weekend after the Ridge Meadows Men forfeited to the KRC Men in Division 2 action.
Under a sunny blue sky, Aliyah Rodominski kicked off to the awaiting Sharks, who faced immediate Raider pressure. Both squads swapped possession in the early minutes with the Raiders making territory gains through the strong carries of Thea Flundra and Milena Chambers. The Raiders continued to attack on both sides of the field with wingers Rhayna Silversides and Lily Watkinson both getting carries and testing their opposition early in the game. Small errors by the Raiders allowed the visiting Sharks moments to clear their lines and move the play back towards the halfway line.
The BCRU have announced their Provincial coaches for the U17 and U19 teams heading to Ontario this summer. All four teams will head to Ontario from July 18-26. The U19 Men and Women will compete in the Canadian Rugby Championships. The U17 Boys and Girls will compete the O’Neill’s Challenge Cup which was started last year as a Ontario v BC competition at the U17 level. Also the regional PRCs will take place July 4th and 5th in Abbotsford for U15, U17, U19 regional teams.
The last early morning of the regular season, saw the KRC Senior Ladies leaving Exhibition Park at 5:30am this morning for Capilanos. After weeks of rain and water logged pitches, it was sunny skies and a relatively dry playing surface at Kahlanie Park.
It’s good news to hear there will be senior men’s rep competition this spring. Ontario are visiting BC for 3 matches, one against a regional team, Vancouver Island, before taking on the BC Bears for two games, one at Capilano and the other at Shawnigan Lake School.
Another early morning for the Kamloops Raiders as the Men and Women headed off to Ridge Meadows and Bayside respectively.
The Sharks from Bayside kicked off to the Raider Ladies under grey skies and cool temperatures at South Surrey Athletic Park. The Sharks came out flying and were very aggressive at the breakdown, causing problems for the Raiders. Both sides swapped possession initially with Milena Chambers, Riley Halvorson, and Mya Giardullo providing solid carries for the Raiders under significant Bayside pressure. Bayside eventually secured consistent possession and were the first to open the scoring, try was unconverted 0-5 Bayside.
With a double game vs United for both Senior Raider teams, the squads left Kamloops at 5:45 am for Town Center Park, Coquitlam.
The ladies kicked off to the hosting United in rainy, grey conditions. The wet conditions hampered the hosts, and the Raiders were able to regain possession. The Raider forwards moved the ball cleanly between them and with strong carries from Thea Flundra and Lindsay Stobbe, the Raiders were breaking the gain line. The United scrumhalf showed her pace early and often throughout the game, causing problems for both KRC scrum halves, while United showed great pace off the defensive line.
I love this story on several levels, raising the profile of rugby in BC, growing it outside the traditional mainland/island areas and featuring in a company in-house publication. Cory played at Velox/Westshore and when he moved to Trail he worked to revive the rugby club. He works at Teck Metals (part of Teck Resources) and they ran the story in their in-house publication “After Ours” and we’ve reprinted it below.
On a chilly January 24th morning, the KRC Senior Men and Women boarded the bus from Exhibition to start both of their second half campaigns.
The Senior men exited the bus at John Oliver Park for their Division 2 clash with the Brit Lions while the Senior women continued on to Connaught Park for this Division 1 match with the Meralomas.