It’s difficult to get any answers out of Rugby Canada on the men’s U20 program, a critical link to the men’s XVs program. Stephen Aboud was announced in May 2023 as the head of the High Performance programs but 9 months later he’s doing his best impersonation of the invisible man.
The Highlanders have announced one of their flyhalves, current UBC #10, James Biss. Former UBC coach Curry Hitchborn describes him as “a smart and tenacious player.”
Paige Farries scored 3 tries with fellow Canadians Sophie de Goede and McKinley Hunt adding a try apiece. SDG also converted 7 of the 11 tries in the Sarries 69-3 win over Sale.
Ian Hyde-Lay is a very well known Victoria sport coach and personality. He should be after almost 40 years coaching his two passion sports – Rugby & Basketball.
Curry Hitchborn should be familiar with Sam Mace, he was the opposing front row player when the Toronto Arrows Academy defeated the BC Bears in the Coast to Coast Cup in the summer of 2023.
Round 6 of the women’s English Premiership wrapped up to end 2023, Round 7 is slated for this weekend. Saracens remained top of the standings and Sophie de Goede again made the team of the week, this time playing blindside flanker.
Congratulations to local rugby icon, John Lyall, for being named as a 2024 inductee into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 16th. John is being recognized for his building work in rugby, particularly with the Thunder Indigenous Rugby program, the first of its kind in Canada.
Ollie Nott is a good choice for Highlander #1. He’s played representative rugby in BC from the U16 level up, has represented Canada at the U20 and Senior level, has played in the MLR and at 28 he still has a lot of rugby ahead of him, at least one more World Cup.
The Vancouver Highlanders have made the commitment to reveal their 25 player list over the next 12 weeks, that would average two a week until mid-March.
We reflect on the last 3 months of 2023, from October to December, selecting 31 stories that highlighted what was happening in local, national and international rugby news from a Canadian west coast perspective.