There were eleven Canadian players in action this past weekend, missing were key players Alex Tessier, Sabrina Poulin, Julia Schell, Chloe Daniels. The Saracens with seven Canadian players in the roster had a bye week. Scoring tries this week were Pam Buisa, Daleaka Menin, Fancy Bermudez. There’s one more round before the April break for international matches.
Canada finished 5th in Montevideo, defeating Belgium, their first win in the SVNS 2 series in ten attempts. That places them in a 5th/6th place tie with Belgium in the SVNS 2 series with one tournament left next weekend. That result effectively eliminates them from contention of promotion to the SVNS Championship series beginning in April in Hong Kong. Canada have 22 series points, tied with Belgium, Uruguay in 4th place have 28 points, that means Canada would have to win the São Paulo tournament and hope Uruguay finishes no higher than 4th. In that scenario Canada and Uruguay would be tied at 42 points and go to tie breaking formulas. USA and Germany are tied at 38 points, Kenya in 3rd have 34 points, all three teams look certain to advance.
It’s Week 16 with most teams just having two more matches after this weekend, the exception UVic who will have three more matches. CW defaulted/conceded their match to Ravens due to injuries. We’ll see how the BCRU classifies this as it determines how many points are awarded to the Ravens, at the present it just says the match is “Cancelled”. UBC, Burnaby, UVic, Westshore were all winners this weekend. UBC and Westshore remained tied for 2nd/3rd behind Ravens. Burnaby and UVic continue battle for final playoff spot with head to head matchup next weekend.
The wet weather has predictably changed some matches this weekend as municipalities, which own most of the rugby playing venues, are becoming increasingly more protective of the fields. It’s good to see some clubs being proactive in finding alternative venues. Westshore have moved their match vs JBAA to Starlight Stadium, the match is now at 7pm under the lights on Saturday. Other changes we’ve noted as of Thursday evening according to the BC Rugby fixture page, the UBC v Capilano men’s Premier match is now at Klahanie.
There were 16 Canadian players in action last weekend in the PWR. Asia Hogan-Rochester scored a try. Bristol with 3 Canadian players had a bye week. Sophie de Goede is still recuperating from injury, 13 weeks ago she posted on social media, “cartilage defect in my right knee requiring surgery round 3”. It’s unclear when she’ll be back. There’s two more rounds before the April break and the Pacific Four tournament preparation begins.
The 3rd issue of Phil’s newsletter covering boys XVs rugby on Vancouver Island. In 7s last week GP Vanier claimed the Westshore Secondary 7s titles in senior boys, senior girls and junior girls. Cowichan’s Quw’utsun claimed the junior boys title. St. George’s junior XV are in Scotland/England during the spring break. Thunder Indigenous rugby are sending boys and girls U18 XVs teams to a tournament in Portugal. Robert Bateman is touring to NZ and Australia. Shawnigan is going to France. ADSS (Port Alberni) going to the UK. If you know of other youth teams touring during spring break, add them to the comments section.
Canada lost to France in the 5th place semi-final 24-19. It was a better performance for Canada with the match tied 19-19 as the clock wound down, a late try by France gave them the victory. Canada followed that up with their first win of the tournament 22-14 over Great Britain. Florence Symonds and Charity Williams again led the team on Day 2, Williams scoring 3 tries and Symonds distributing and leading on defence, she was the leading defender in their win over Great Britain with 5 tackles.
This is a make-up weekend which is why there are only two Premier matches. After this weekend all but two teams will have reached 14 games played with 3 games left, the exceptions are UVic who still have one extra match left and the Lomas who have already played 15 and are out of playoff contention. The Pride aren’t included as they only play a single round and aren’t playoff eligible.
GP Vanier from Courtenay made a statement in high school 7s winning 3 of the 4 titles at the Westshore Secondary 7s. They won the senior boys, senior girls and junior girls. Robin MacDowell’s rugby academy at Cowichan’s Quw’utsun high school won the junior boys title. Vanier senior boys came 2nd in the province last year in 7s with Belmont winning the provincial 7s title.
The Castaway Wanderers Rugby Football Club (CW Rugby) has begun the search for our next Head Coach of the Senior Men’s Program.
As one of British Columbia’s and Canada’s most established rugby clubs, CW Rugby combines a proud history with a forward-looking commitment to excellence. Our Senior Men’s program competes at the highest levels of amateur rugby, and we are seeking a leader who can build on that foundation.