In Touch Newsletter Issue 8 by Phil Smith – Quw’utsun, Shawnigan, and Oak Bay With Big Wins
This week, Shawnigan had a statement win over rivals St George’s and Oak Bay had a similar win against
cross-town rival SMUS to win the 30th edition of the Rees Boot. But Quw’utsun, with their win over Abbotsford,
will likely shoot to number one in the Provincial AAA rankings.
Games This Week
Tuesday May 6: SMUS at Royal Bay (Jrs)
Thursday May 8:
SMUS at Shawnigan (Srs)
Claremont at Oak Bay (Jrs and Srs)
Mt Douglas @ Brentwood (Srs)
Mark Isfeld @ Alberni District (Srs)
Power Rankings April 30
1. Quw’utsun
2. Shawnigan
3. Oak Bay
4. SMUS
5. Brentwood
Games Last Week
St George’s (8) at Shawnigan (26)
Three Stars:
★★★ Simroy John (Shawnigan)
★★ Lennon Lazare (St George’s)
★ Georges Gave (Shawnigan)
Shawnigan flexed their muscle in a dominant win over Saints on their home turf. The team was led by
powerful prop Simroy John, who exerted maximum pressure at scrum, delivered some crunching
tackles, and scored a try in what was his best game of the year. Similarly impressive was captain
Georges Gave, who having returned from injury, was rangy and steered his team with composure.
Though Saints battled bravely, it felt like they were in a vice and that Shawnigan methodically turned
its screws. The effort was epitomised by a defensive play in the last minute of the game: with
a Saints ball-carrier streaking downfield, Shawnigan utility player Greg Puterill chased him
down from 60 yards before tackling him and effecting a turnover. Indeed, everything Shawnigan
touched turned to gold; even fullback Tomas Klassen, whose every kick is an experiment,
exacted a brilliant 50-22 when under pressure. Saints will realize that Shawnigan played with
emotion that stemmed from the massive crowd, and that playing them at Provincials will be easier.
Saints will be encouraged by strong play by their front row, in particular Lennon Lazare, who took on
the Shawnigan pack without a backwards step. Also notable was the defence of scrumhalf George
Cassady who plugged holes with courage.
Quw’utsun (33) vs Abbotsford (5)
Three Stars:
★★★ Luke Prest (Quw’utsun)
★★ Abbotsford #8
★ Cameron Healy (Quw’utsun)
Quw’utsun cruised to a comfortable 33-5 win against athletic but ultimately overmatched
Abbotsford High School. Luke Prest led the way with searing runs and effective kicking, while
Cameron Healy provided some steel up front. Quw’utsun were missing talismanic Max Lang with
an injury, who they will need come playoffs. With the win and Shawnigan beating Saints, Quw’utsun
likely moved to the top of the BC AAA Rankings.
Brentwood (33) at DW Poppy (7)
Three Stars:
★★★ Soren Lee (Brentwood)
★★ Max Sullivan (DW Poppy)
★ Julian Bishop (Brentwood)
Brentwood scored three tries early with some slick backplays, cheeky chip kicks, and an intercept to
put them in the drivers seat, and they cruised to victory against an athletic but less-experienced DW
Poppy. Brentwood Number 8 Soren Lee was a menace all day, doling out punishing tackles and
ruck cleans, while flyhalf Julian Bishop had plenty of time and space to pull the strings. For DW
Poppy, prop Arthur Baker was effective both on attack and defence, as was inside centre Conrad
McLeod. Lock Max Sullivan was the natural leader, even kicking an improbably conversion from the
touchline. For Brentwood, they will be happy to have the win but will rue some inconsistent play,
particularly as the game wore on and they seemed to lose focus.
Oak Bay (26) at SMUS (14) Rees Boot Game
Three Stars:
★★★ Mike Oughtred
★★ Ewan Webber-Smith
★ Elias Palov
The 1st XV matchups between SMUS and Oak Bay over the years have provided no end of thrills and
spills. This year was no exception. Outstanding performances by the Barbs highly regarded Four
Horsemen (Robert Reid, Eli Palov, Mike Oughtred and Jasper Keast), allied to solid team defence,
helped stake the visitors to a deserved 19-7 halftime advantage
After the break, SMUS, spurred on by a large and passionate crowd of some 500, came back into the
game. Captain Ewan Webber-Smith, #8 Sebastian Allard and centre Des Grant, all carried strongly.
After several close calls near the Oak Bay goal line, the hosts narrowed the deficit to 19-14 when prop
Braxton Lechner powered over from close range.
The final frantic minutes saw the Blue Jags press for a dramatic victory. One last driving maul ended up meters short, though a subsequent short side attack looked promising. However, with the clock in the red, Palov pilfered the ball at the ruck, then squirmed away into the open field. A clever transfer to Keast then allowed the elusive and powerful centre to run in a clinching try.
The Boot Presentation was notable for Head Coach Peter Atkinson, who after 30 years is retiring and
will relinquish his head coaching role at the end of the season.
Claremont (41) vs Yale (26)
Three Stars:
★★★ Thomas Gould (Claremont)
★★ Rylan Cook (Yale)
★ Benson Hunt (Claremont)
This was a game of two halves. Yale had a strong breeze behind them and came out fired up. Flyhalf
Rylan Cook and inside centre Ryan Sheldrake led the way and put them up 21-17 at the half. At the
turn, however, Claremont surged ahead with strong runs from Thomas Gould and Benson Hunt, and
ended up winning comfortably. Claremont has suffered several injuries this season and this was
the first time they had sufficient numbers to replace players during the game. Hopefully they are
building momentum at the right time of the year.
Junior Rugby Roundup
Oak Bay (24) at SMUS (8)
Waves of early SMUS pressure produced just a sole Liam Whiteside penalty kick. The
visitors then kicked into gear, scoring four well worked tallies to lead 24-3. A late Santi
Flores score provided some consolation for the Blue Jags in a game perhaps closer than
a 24-8 final scoreline suggests.
Brentwood (29) at Shawnigan (34) Patel Shield
A fiercely contested match under glorious sunshine. Brentwood leaked two tries early but
battled back bravely and produced some sizzling, full length tries. Julian Gairns-Guillo was
excellent for Brentwood while Shawnigan flyhalf Hluma Vezile kicked superbly which put his team
on the front foot regularly.
Island Boys First XV Stars
Competition Leaderboard
April 20
Robert Reid (OB) 9
Jasper Keast (OB) 8
Max Lang (QU) 7
Luke Prest (QU) 6
Jack Driscoll (SMUS) 5
Ferg Jessop (Clar) 5
Mike Oughtred (OB) 5
Rudolf Kruger (BCS) 4
Sebastien Allard (SMUS) 4
Brady Zhang (SLS) 4
Julian Bishop (BCS) 4
Simroy John (SLS) 4
Short Lineout
One person’s opinion, expressed succinctly
The law forbidding players who are in a ruck to play the ball-carrier once the ruck is over is an
over-reach. Proper technique and support solves this problem, not more laws.
–Phil Smith