In Touch Newsletter Issue 9 by Phil Smith – Claremont Jrs Upset Barbs; Plunge Playoffs into Chaos
It was a relatively quiet week for the senior boys, but the huge story was the Claremont juniors defeating Oak
Bay convincingly, 38-22. It was only their second win of the season, but the machinations of playoff seeding
saw them leapfrog Oak Bay and SMUS into the top spot. More details below…
Games This Week
Tuesday May 13:
Oak Bay at Shawnigan (Jr Island Semi)
Brentwood at Claremont (Jr Island Semi)
Wednesday May 14:
Oak Bay at Shawnigan (Sr AAA Island Semi)
Claremont at Quw’utsun (Sr AAA Island Semi)
Mt Doug at Brentwood (Sr AA Island Semi)
Thursday May 15:
Island Junior Finals, UVic
Bronze Medal Game 2pm
Gold Medal Game 330pm
Power Rankings April 30
1. Quw’utsun
2. Shawnigan
3. Oak Bay
4. SMUS
5. Brentwood
The Playoff Picture
Firstly, the Junior Boys. The season schedule was a mix of local (South and North of Malahat) and cross-over games. Because not all teams played everyone, the playoff seeding was determined by local games only. Up North, Shawnigan beat both Brentwood and Alberni, so they took the top North seed. The situation in Victoria was murkier, with Claremont beating Oak Bay in the last game, which meant that SMUS, Oak Bay and Claremont all tallied two wins from local teams, and once point-differential was considered, Claremont took the top seed and SMUS were eliminated from the playoffs. The seeding seems cruel when you consider that SMUS beat Claremont twice this year, and had four wins overall. Claremont had just two wins, but their most important win came when it
mattered, and against the Island’s hitherto top team. So Claremont hosts Brentwood, and Oak Bay must now travel into the cauldron of Shawnigan Lake School. There are two berths from the Island for Jr Provincials, so the drama is set to continue…
For Senior AAA, Quw’utsun remain unbeaten and will host Claremont on Wednesday. Claremont had to pull out of their game vs Oak Bay halfway through after succumbing to countless injuries. Indeed, Claremont’s numbers have been on a knife-edge all year, with injuries plaguing them throughout. Hopefully they can heal quickly, because Quw’utsun, hot off a routine win vs Abbotsford, are looking formidable. In addition, athletic talisman Max Lang looks set to return from injury, making them even stronger.
On the other side of the draw, Oak Bay travel to Shawnigan, in a rematch of their early season tilt, which Shawnigan won 34-24. To play six weeks later will be an indicator of how each team has developed, but perhaps more importantly, how well they’ve managed injuries and workload. Shawnigan has an aura when they play at home, and visitors often gift them points early in the game. If Oak Bay can hold them early and build into the game, it will give them momentum which will allow their fantastic four (Reid, Palov, Keast, and Oughtred) to shine. Oak Bay’s flyhalf Mike Oughtred might be the most important: if he can kick effectively, Oak Bay will hem Shawnigan deep, and the men in black can be overly-daring on the counter-attack. For Shawnigan, if they are direct up front with Milo MacDonald and Simroy John leading, Oak Bay will not be able to match them.
For Senior AA, SMUS have been head-and shoulders above the rest in combining strong forward play led by Sebastian Allard and Ewan Webber-Smith, effective kicking by Jack Driscoll, and strong backplay led by Henry Williamson. For their efforts, they get a bye into the final. Brentwood and Mt Doug play in the sole semi, with Brentwood winning comfortably last week. The men from Mill Bay are developing nicely; while their backline led by Julian Bishop and Rudolf Kruger has always sizzled, their forward pack is finding its rhythm. Number Eight Soren Lee was sensational against DW Poppy two weeks ago and Isaac Koontz has been a revelation at lock. For Mt Doug, they will be shell-shocked by their last result and will rely heavily on the calm leadership of Connor Poulin
and Miles Scott to pull off an upset.
Finally, it should be noted that the Island has been awarded seven berths to the BC High School Championships, so every team mentioned here has qualified to go.
Games Last Week
Mt Doug (0) at Brentwood (54)
Three Stars:
★★★ Julian Bishop (Brentwood)
★★ Oliver Ford (Mt Douglas)
★ Shunsuke Nakatani (Brentwood)
Brentwood were too strong for Mt Doug in what was a fun run-out on their home turf. Strong play from the halfback pairing of Shunsuke Nakatani and Julian Bishop led to several long-range tries. Indeed, when flyhalf Bishop moved to outside centre, his potency seemed to amplify. For Mt Doug, they will take small solace in the defensive play of Oliver Ford who made several try-saving tackles and was secure under the high ball. That being said, their playoff rematch this week is daunting. The story for Brentwood is rosier; they were able to empty their bench to ensure players will be rested heading into playoffs.
SMUS (21) at Shawnigan (26)
Three Stars:
★★★ Massimo Ruben (Shawnigan)
★★ Jack Driscoll (SMUS)
★ Henry Williamson (Shawnigan)
Both SMUS and Shawnigan made several changes to their starting lineups as they tried to manage players workloads. Enterprising play from Shawnigan’s super-sub MacLean Balderson and made the difference. For SMUS, Jack Driscoll kicked well and centre Henry Williamson ran hard
and distributed with vision.
Mark Isfeld (50) at Alberni (22)
Three Stars:
★★★ Mattias Johnson (Isfeld)
★★ Linden Andreesen (Alberni)
★ Theo Fyfe (Isfeld)
Mark Isfeld travelled to Alberni and secured their first win of the season, running in a half-century on a fine spring day. Excellent running from Mattias Johnson and 27 points from Theo Fyfe were the difference. For Alberni, Linden Andreesen directed well at flyhalf and scored three tries.
Claremont (3) at Oak Bay (34)
Three Stars
★★★ Eli Palov (Oak Bay)
★★ Owen Bosdet (Claremont)
★ Robert Reid (Oak Bay)
Oak Bay was too powerful for a depleted Claremont team who had to forfeit the game partway through. Oak Bay’s usual suspects ran roughshod throughout the first half, as Claremont’s fortunes worsened. Claremont will need to recover quickly in order to compete in the AAA Island semi-final.
Junior Rugby Roundup
Claremont (38) at Oak Bay (22)
The game of the week. Claremont suffered several heart-breaking losses this year and so was elated to finally get a proper scalp, defeating an unbeaten team.
SMUS (47) at Royal Bay (7)
SMUS had a solid win over Royal Bay, but the point differential wasn’t enough for them to make the playoffs. For Royal Bay, Sathvik, Julius and Markus played well in a losing cause.
Island Boys First XV Stars
Competition Leaderboard
April 20
Robert Reid (OB) 10
Jasper Keast (OB) 8
Max Lang (QU) 7
Jack Driscoll (SMUS) 7
Julian Bishop (BCS) 7
Luke Prest (QU) 6
Soren Lee (BCS) 6
Ferg Jessop (Clar) 5
Mike Oughtred (OB) 5
Rudolf Kruger (BCS) 4
Sebastien Allard (SMUS) 4
Brady Zhang (SLS) 4
Simroy John (SLS) 4
Linden Andreesen (ADSS) 4
Elias Palov OB) 4
Short Lineout
One person’s opinion, expressed succinctly
I would love to know more about what is happening with Boys Sevens and Girls Rugby on the Island. There seems to be a vacuum of information!
–Phil Smith