Last Saturday was cold + last Saturday was wet, it would be the first real test for the new fields at Burnaby Lake. Gone are the days of drowning at mid field or sinking up to your knee I have told my club. Saturday was the chance to prove that was true. It would be the first Seattle trip for our women in a VERY long time (possibly ever…there’s some debate) and our men would host a club day vs Capilano at home. Full club days are a rarity in the BC Premier League with most Premier clubs only fielding 2 teams on Saturdays. We knew that Caps would be stretched thin with 4 senior Men’s sides competing on Saturday plus their U-20’s. While I’m sure that fielding 5 teams on a given Saturday must cause headaches for the coaching staff + logistical volunteers, it is a testament to the hard work + dedication that’s been done by Capilano RFC + school the programs on the North Shore. No other club can boast of having those problems.
BLRC Women 15 – Emerald City Mudhens 68
On a wet, windy and miserable day, the Burnaby Lake Women car-pooled down the I-5 to play the Mudhens of Seattle. It was felt like there was a hurricane belting Seattle. Garbage bins were literally being lifted off the ground by the strong winds as the Women were preparing for the match. Needless to say, BLRC’s hope of a win blew away as well when 4 minutes into the game the Mudhens had already touched down twice.
The forwards competed really well and drove the Mudhens whenever they had the chance in open play. Laura Harmse lead the way, ably supported by Nancy Radman, Iona Schamberger and Tess Woldring. The scrums were a disaster in the first half, with Emerald City stealing 5 scrums in a row from the Burnaby Lake girls.
In the backs the girls were overmatched. The Mudhens exploited and took advantage of some missed tackles in the centers and the floodgates opened up really quickly. Angel Santos followed up a great performance from last week at fullback with another sterling effort, but there were just too many tackles to be made. As expected, a great individual effort from Captain Julia at Standoff, resulted in her scoring three tries, Burnaby Lake’s only points of the day. Next match for the Ladies will be against United at Hume Park on November 16th.
BLRC 3rd Division 14 – Capilano RFC 0
The 11:30 match would be the first of 3 hard hitting, low scoring games. The BLRC were fortunate to have most players available today and produced a deep lineup. The memory of a home field 3rd div throttling last half still fresh in the minds of BLRC vets Flello, Thompson + Turkington. The plan for today was to play in the Caps end of the field. It’s easier said than done, but Casey Evans + Colin Thompson stuck to the plan of using their boots to keep play in the visitor’s end and to make them use their frozen fingers to try to catch the slippery ball. The BLRC forwards would have an edge on the day with big men like DeCaire, Jarvis, Gordon, Kajandar + Homewood crashing the ball when possible and both BLRC tries would come as the result of this. BLRC tries came from Walter Homewood + Casey Evans. Evans would also add 2 conversions to put the game out of the visitor’s reach by half time.
BLRC 1st Division 20 – Capilano RFC 13
The 2nd game was a rematch of Septembers VRU 1st div final which saw the Caps emerge victorious in double overtime at Klahanie Park. The 1sts were expecting a tight game today and added some bulk to their forwards with 4 starters over 6’3 (though also fielded 2 forwards whose height is best measured in apples). The 1st half was sloppy with some head shaking plays from both sides (is a muddy, ice cold day with rain falling in sheets the best time for expansive, off-load filled rugby?) but entertaining as there were some good tries scored and some big hits laid out. The score at half time was 7-6 for Caps after a try from CRFC #2 Craig Rice and a convert from Sam Franklin. Nolan Shelley had 2 penalty kicks for the BLRC.
The 2nd half opened with many of the same problems as knock-ons and no look were passes the story of the opening minutes. A BLRC “not releasing” penalty gave Franklin the chance to add another 3 points to the scoreline and he made good on it. After being camped out in the Caps 5m line for a while, BLRC #8 Andy Drummond would add a try and Shelley’s conversion put the BLRC up 13-10. Scott MacKay scored the last BLRC try after a long forward passage. Shelley converted to put the team up 20-10. Capilano amped up their energy with Chris Robinson leading the way, and while they got another 3 pts (from Franklin) for their efforts, the game would end with the BLRC on top, 20-13.
BLRC Premier 3 – Capilano 9
Whether over confidence on one side was the issue, or frenzied desire for a W on the other was the issue, by all accounts Capilano came out firing in this game and the Blue+White appeared lackadaisical. While the 1st half defensive efforts of Govorchin + Rockson should be noted, it seemed for others that even putting on socks would be too much effort. The game opened with the Caps marching down to the BLRC goal line. The BLRC cleared the ball, and the Caps marched back down again. This would continue for most of the 1st half with Capilano using an effective form of attack known by some as “hands”. Even in Premier Rugby, it works more often than not. The BLRC played spirited defense when needed and were able to keep Capilano off the scoreboard for the opening 23 minutes. Eventually BLRC’s penalty count would get the best of them and allow Yanagiya to put 3 points on the board. The BLRC fans were treated to a bit of excitement when Joe Dolesau got the ball off of a ruck, stiff armed 2 defenders to the ground and gained some yards, but he was forced out of bounds before any damage was done. After a long stanza of penalties and re-sets James Reekie would bring the crowd back into it with about a minute left in the half. James intercepted an errant pass and raced down the sideline. He was caught by Carpenter + Bowman and the ball was recycled to Geoff Ryan who put a nice cross kick to Cole McQueen on the opposite sideline. Unfortunately the timing was just off and the ball bounced out of bounds. That was all the action in the 1sthalf and it ended 3-0 in favour of Capilano.
The BLRC would open the scoring in the 2nd half, when James Reekie was given a shot at goal. He made good on it to tie the game up at 3. The next 15 min would be a war of whistles played between the 22’s. Neither team was able to get much going with sloppy play and penalty after penalty stopping the game in its tracks. Eventually a BLRC penalty gave Yanagiya a chance to put Capilano back on top. He made good on the opportunity and with only a few minutes left, added another to seal the game. Final score Capilano 9 – BLRC 3
Big thanks to Capilano RFC for sticking around and having some beers. Good luck to all your teams for the rest of the season. Thanks to Rod, Harry + Drew from the BCRRS for braving the cold and rain. Finally congrats to Kevin Gaffney who had a David vs Goliath challenge in front of him, but stood his ground and defeated long time CTOW champion Alec Douglas on Saturday evening. Kevin now finds his name forever etched in an elite circle that includes only Alec Douglas + Pat Riordan. Anyone can win the title Kevin, a champion can defend it. Good luck to you sir.
Many Teams~One Club
