In spite of the Men’s 1sts + Prems having an off day, Saturday was a busy playoff day for the Blue + White.
BLRC 2nd Div Women 10, Ridge Meadows Bruins 17
The playoff action started early in Maple Ridge where the 2nd Div women took on the always tough Ridge Meadows Bruins. When the 2 teams met in the regular season, the BLRC 2nds had been taught a lesson as the Bruins rolled to a 20 point victory. Saturdays contest was a much tighter affair, and although the girls lost 17-10 (BLRC tries from Lauren Tagg + Abigail Tacal) there was much to be excited about. Ideally you want to win your last game of the season, but the teams heads were held high; none more than head coach Ian Trevor whose positivity + enthusiasm for his team + Women’s Rugby can’t be overstated. The average age of the 2nds this year was 17 years old, with most girls doing double duty with their Secondary Schools. The emergence this year of young leaders like Brandon Mattin, Malak Dalati and Anh Tran (just to name a few)combined with the surprising breakout performances of Ruby Moore-Kalia + Breanne Watson bodes well for Women’s rugby in Burnaby and particularly the BLRC Women’s program! Thanks to Coach Ian Trevor + manager Brett Taylor for their dedication this year.
BLRC 3 Blue’s 10, Vancouver Rowing Club 29
3rd division rugby at its best! Both teams fielding rosters with players born in the 60’s/70’s and the late 90’s! The Rowers balance of age to youth was the better mixture on this day as they would prevail after being down 10 to 0 early in the 1st half. Mark Lynch would score the BLRC’s 1st try after a blocked kick by Pete Dove had the ball bouncing into the end zone. Wayne Lawson would convert and add a penalty minutes later. Unfortunately the wheels fell off the BLRC attack after that, and while there was some promising play from youngsters Keegan Fletcher, Trent Shelley and Wayne Lawson… the experience + treachery of the Rower shone through. Somehow Pat O’Gorman was still the difference maker (makes me embarrassed for hanging up the cleats before I’m 50!) as his appearance for the VRC changed the dynamic of this game entirely. To the Rowers we wish you good luck for the rest of the playoffs. Thanks 3B’s for a great season!
BLRC 3 White’s 12, Brit Lions 25
The game got off on the wrong foot for the BLRC as standout center + asian heart throb, Dean Villares, was lost to a bad ankle injury. He was released from the hospital on Saturday night and is in for a long recovery. The BLRC got off to a SLOOOOW start with the Brit’s jumping ahead to an 18 point lead. In the 2nd half, the BLRC would come back on Rick Flello + Tyler Rumley tries. Colin Thomson was good on one conversion and the score was a close 18 to 12. With time running out the BLRC were surging in opposition end but an errant pass was picked off by an astute Brit Lion and run all the way back for the nail in the coffin. Thanks to the Brit Lions for a great game and good luck in the playoffs!
BLRC Premier Women 13, United RFC 5
Most BLRC vs United games are high energy and filled with emotion and big hits (not often seen in women’s rugby), but Saturday’s match was another level of intensity. The BLRC were led all day by their powerful forward pack who made life tough for their opposition in the scrums + rucks. Laura Harmse, Katie Grudzinski, Deb Capps, Kim Donaldson, Hailey Glendenning, Abby Goodwin, Carolyn MacEwen and Iona Schamberger were outstanding up front. The backs were led by Captain Julia Sugawara with Maria Gallo, Mel Miyazaki, Maggie Ritchie, Gen Gratton, Devon Luca, Angel Santos and Becky Querido pushing the pace all game and never giving an inch! The BLRC try scorer was 2nd row Abby Goodwin. Julia Sugawara added a convert and 2 three pointers to seal the victory and their 3rd straight trip to the BC finals.
After the games were finished, the club got dressed up and retired to the BLRC Mohawk Room for our 2012/2013 Awards Banquet. The evening was MC’d, once again, by the handsome BLRC president (me) and attended by over 100 club members. We would like to thank the VRU President Peter Muirhead for attending as well as BLRC + BC Rugby legend Leah James who attended on behalf of BC Rugby (along with her husband Mike). Once again 1st Div coach Dave Murphy had the best speech!
The awards winners were:
Grinder (most aggressive off-field performance) – Andy Drummond
Men’s U-19 Forward of the Year – Trent Shelley
Men’s U-19 Back of the year – Wayne Lawson
Men’s 7’s MVP – Rain De Guzman
Women’s 7’s MVP – Desiree Noger
Men’s Program Rookie of the Year – Titus Le
Women’s Program Rookie of the Year – Aleisha Holmes
Women’s 2nd Division Forward of the Year – Jessica Tortora
Women’s 2nd Division Back of the Year – Anh Tran
Men’s 3rd Division Forward of the Year – Marvin Omaque
Men’s 3rd Division Back of the Year – Colin Thomson
Men’s 1st Division Forward of the Year – Andy Drummond
Men’s 1st Division Back of the Year – Barry Bonell
Women’s Premier Division Forward of the Year – Iona Schamberger
Women’s Premier Division Back of the Year – Devon Luca
Men’s Premier Division Forward of the Year – Admir Cejvanovic
Men’s Premier Division Back of the Year – Joe Dolesau
Larry Young Award (Club Person of the year as voted on by the players) – Preston Petrovich
Rob Forsberg Award (Club Person of the year as voted on by the Executive Comm.) – Rain De Guzman
Many Teams~One Club
