I was saddened to hear today of the passing of Brent Johnston. He was a stalwart at the Castaway Wanderers club and anyone who was involved in the BC Rugby community would have likely met Brent. He was also manager of the men’s national XVs for a period of time. His brother, Gary “Jono” Johnston, was national team coach in the 80s.
A few local rugby news stories today, a podcast with Jake Thiel showed up on YouTube on the What Fills Your Cup channel. The link is below and a brief Ai summary of the podcast. Also the Pacific Pride announced the players graduating from the program over the winter break. Westshore Secondary 7s announced their tournament for March 14th and the Thunder Indigenous Rugby program announced their celebration at the Mungo Martin House for March 23rd where they’ll award the Bear trophy to the Pacific Pride for winning the Coastal Cup and announce their youth team for the NZ tour, plus announce the winners of the Phil Mack Indigenous player of the year award.
Influencer, it’s a term that’s taken on new meaning over the last decade, even the dictionaries have included the new twist, “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.” Instagram and Tik Tok are probably the most talked about social media platforms among the younger generations. In this article we look at Instagram numbers.
Karl Fix Open Letter to Rugby Canada in Support of Jamie Cudmore as Head Coach
The following is an open letter from Karl Fix to the CEO of Rugby Canada and the Rugby Canada Board. It’s in support of Jamie Cudmore as Canadian Head Coach. The recent announcement by Rugby Canada that Kingsley Jones will be vacating that position has opened the options for a new head coach.
If anyone had been to the James Bay clubhouse post match over the last several decades they likely met Lew Madley. He was President of the club for a period in the 80s but it’s his writing that gained him further recognition. He wrote a book on the history of the James Bay Athletic Association; his work on the history of BC Rugby in his book “Rugby Football in British Columbia 1876-1989” has become a well used reference on my book shelf.
Lifetime Meraloma Club member Gary “Gus” Fumano died on June 23, at age 84
GARY WAYNE FUMANO
“GUS”
1939 – 2024
A celebration of Gary’s life will be held at 4pm Thursday, July 11 at St. James Community Hall at 3214 West 10th Ave. in Vancouver, which will be followed starting around 6:30pm that evening, as per the instructions set out in his will, with a wake at the Meraloma Clubhouse. People who knew Gus, from the Lomas or any other local Rugby Clubs, are invited to join and wear their Club colours.
The Coast to Coast Cup kicked off yesterday without one coast represented, the Pacific coast. BC didn’t send a team this year, instead focusing on the Vancouver Highlanders and their semi-pro summer season.
There was a good crowd on hand to watch the Vancouver Island Crimson Tide Classics cruise to a 72-7 win over the visiting Calgary Maverick Classics at MacDonald Park. The event was a fundraiser for the Canadian Rugby Foundation fund in memory of Kevin “Lunk” Wirachowski. There are 56 photos posted on the BCRN facebook page.
The Bentall Centre on Burrard Street announced a noon to 4pm Vancouver 7s kick-off party on Friday that includes a beer garden, food trucks, DJs plus discount parking and a shuttle service to BC Place.
Wayne Barnes refereed more international tests than anyone else in the history of rugby, including at five Men’s World Cups where he held the whistle in the 2023 Final. His autobiography – Throwing the Book: The Strife and Crimes of a RUGBY Referee – is particularly relevant for understanding the psychological pressure on referees, the values and integrity of the game, and his insight into how the game ought to be played.