High School Rugby Updates – March 2025

In Touch Newsletter – Covering High School Rugby on Vancouver Island and British Columbia Issue 1

Phil Smith has come up with a great resource for high school rugby on the Island and in BC. It’s a newsletter “Covering High School Rugby on Vancouver Island and British Columbia”. We’ve included a link below to download the full .pdf version which is formatted and includes photos. We’ve also copied some of the text below for a quick read. His contact information is in the .pdf and he’s looking for story ideas for the next issue.

Download In Touch – Issue 1 in .pdf

Games This Week

Tuesday March 4:

Brentwood College @ Oak Bay (juniors and seniors)
Mt Doug @ Claremont (seniors only)
Alberni District @ Cowichan (juniors and seniors)

Thursday March 6:

Mt Doug @ SMUS (seniors only)

Friday March 7:

Robert Bateman @ Shawnigan (seniors only)

Power Rankings March 1

1. Shawnigan
2. Oak Bay
3. Brentwood
4. SMUS
5. Claremont

Island High School Season Preview 2025
Shawnigan beefing up; Claremont rattling the cages; Alberni planning a tour

Shawnigan Lake Stags

The Stags are perennial contenders, having won more BC High School Championships than any
other school. Their program is a juggernaut and finds ways to improve every year. This year, with
two-year flyhalf Jonty Nicholas playing at UBC, their backline is going through a transition.
Fortunately, their forward pack will ensure they are going in the right direction. Indeed, coach Jeff
Williams labelled his pack “the biggest we’ve ever had” and will be led by Barbado Grade 11 phenom
Simroy John. For John, Shawnigan has been a life-changing experience and he has embraced all
that the boarding school offers. He will be champing at the bit to do his school proud on the
rugby pitch.

Oak Bay Barbarians

The Barbs come into this season with a storied history; they are by far the most successful public
school rugby team in BC and this year they will be looking to further burnish that reputation. The spine
of their team is an imposing foursome of National age-grade players: Robert Reed, a hulking figure at
number eight; Jasper Keith, a slick handling midfielder; and Elias Palov, an experienced scrum
half who is similarly comfortable anywhere in the backfield; and their general Mike Oughtred, a silky
flyhalf with a deft foot and a familiar name: his cousin Mike Oughtred won a Provincial
Championship with the Barbs in 1993. If they can keep these players healthy deep into May, they will
be AAA Provincial Championship contenders, which would be a fitting way to send off long-time
retiring coach Pete Atkinson.

Brentwood College

Brentwood continues to compete by turning all-around athletes into rugby players. After fielding
a young team last year, they return with a more experienced squad, led by three-sport varsity
athlete Julian Bishop. He will pull the strings at flyhalf, where he combines sizzling top-end speed,
good footwork, and consistent goal-kicking. Also key for their attack will be Grade 12 wingers Youto
Imai and Isaac Ryan, the fastest outside backs in the last decade. While their forward pack, led by
workhorse Soren Lee and rangy back-rower Olivier Balek, will hold their own, Brentwood’s success will
hinge upon how effectively they can unlock their talented backline. Every year, they push deep into
the AA Provincial Championships, and this year should be no different.

St Michael’s University School Jags

Like Oak Bay, SMUS has a similarly storied history in Victoria, and their rivalry with the Barbs is as
legendary as any in school sports. While the public school down Foul Bay Rd has had the measure of
them the last few years, things might be changing. Last year, SMUS won the Junior Island
Championship by pummelling Shawnigan on the back of slick backline moves and fast-paced play.
Those juniors join the senior squad and combine with experienced Grade 12s Ewen Webber-Smith
(who first played for the first XV when he was in Grade 9), flyhalf Jack Driscoll, and flanker Markus
Djurickovic. Coach Clayton Daum notes that their forward pack is bigger this year and should be able
to match any team up front. SMUS play Oak Bay in their annual Rees Boot Game on their Alumni
Weekend on Saturday, May 3.

Claremont Spartans

While most coaches try to bring structure to their teams, Spartans coach Matt Belvedere will look to
encourage as much chaos as possible. Blessed with natural athletes in flyhalf JW Lee and fullback
Owen Duncan, they will try to unsettle the perennial pecking order by embracing unpredictability. We
saw seeds of that last year when Claremont won their Stadium Series match-up to qualify for the
AAA Tier Two Provincials. This year, they hope for even more, and as they expand their program they
welcome several new staff members including Canada player Gradyn Bowd. They will lean on
forwards Ewan Gardiner and Gabe Regosa to, as coach Belvedere puts it, “rattle some cages”.
Anyone taking this team lightly will be left bewildered and beaten.

Alberni Storm

ADSS will field a team comprised almost entirely of Grade 11 athletes this season. An initiative allowing
Grade 12 students to begin trades training at North Island College has been wildly successful, but it’s
made it tricky for those seniors to play rugby. Instead, coach Gavin Purewal will focus on the
future. The Storm is led by electric Grade 11 fly-half Linden Andreesen, who has trained regularly with
the Blacksheep RFC, and by flanker Baedon Dol who consistently provides the grunt-work and is
deceptively quick. These two will lead the way this year but will also anchor the team on their planned
tour to San Francisco next March, which is their first international tour in thirty years.

Mark Isfeld Ice

Coach Jesse Pendak has been building his Courtenay program for several years, but it took a
big hit during COVID-19, and he’s been rebuilding since. Last year, Mark Isfeld had a strong showing
in Sevens, placing 10th at the Provincial Championships. Pendak was raised in the Comox
Valley and learned rugby from coaching legend Ken Erickson and Vanier High, so it was a highlight for
him to lead Isfeld to their first victory over Vanier last year. In 2025, they will be led by Theo Fyfe at
flyhalf, who has a prodigious boot and the confidence to lead his team with courage. Up front,
powerhouse prop Mylo Huber will give the Ice reliable go-forward.

Mount Douglas Rams

Playing only exhibition games in the league last year, the Mount Doug Rams are looking to
establish themselves as proper opponents this time around. Coach Daniel Griffith, a North Shore native
who attended UVic leads an enthusiastic group of boys who are learning the game quickly. The squad
started as a group of football players looking to stay fit, but this year, they are bona fide rugby athletes
who have the knowledge to really push teams. Leading the way will be Caleb Jonker, a big mobile
lock, and Kaleb Hunt, a flanker who is the most experienced in the squad, having played for
Westshore, the Crimson Tide, and the Thunder Rugby Program. Over the next year, Griffiths hopes
to establish some club pathways and start both a girls and junior boys team. The school is lucky to
have someone as energetic as Griffiths to spearhead this fledgling program.

Quw’utsun

Formerly Cowichan High, this school has a new name, a new building, and a new rugby field in
2025. Bolstered by the MacDowell Rugby Academy, but driven by local coaches including
Alejandro Chavez and Sheridan Candelaria, Quw’utsun will look to take their game to the next
level this season. While we were unable to obtain any information about the team by the publishing
deadline, we are sure that they will let their on-field play do the talking.

Royal Bay Ravens

Under coach Ray Barkwill, Royal Bay has been growing its program steadily. During his first year, only eight players turned up; this year, he has attracted close to 60 boys across junior and senior teams. While the senior team will be predominantly playing sevens, they will dip their toes in the water by playing several exhibition games. The first occasion will be in hosting GW Graham from Chilliwack, which Barkwill sees as an opportunity to expose his players to the idea of touring and hosting in rugby. A player to watch is big #8 Kai Abramson, a Grade 11 five-sport varsity athlete just at home on a mountain bike as on a rugby field. On the junior side, flanker Jack Marshall leads the way either in the back row or in the midfield. Clearly, exciting things are happening in Langford, and with almost 1800 students at Royal Bay, you get the feeling that they’re on the precipice of something big.