BLRC 3rd Division 17 – Brit Lions 31
The 3rds started the day in Delta against a tough Brit Lions outfit. The 3rds fielded a big pack with the likes of Sawchuk, Molesworth, Gordon and Bradley in the tight 5, but the Brits were no slouches either. The word from Coach Cargnelli was that a messy 1st half had the Blue & White down 22 to zip at the break and the boys fought hard to claw their way back into the game and at least win the 2nd half. The inclusion of Collin “Yeller” MacKenzie did wonders in shoring up the scrum, and former BLRC junior Vishal Kumaar was mentioned by the coach as a standout performer on the day along with #10 Collin Thompson and #14 Graham Cross. Next week sees the 3rds joining the rest of the Men’s program for a Club day at home when they host cross town rivals SFU. Games between the 2 clubs are always up tempo and exciting!
BLRC 1st Division Men 33 – James Bay 5
An energetic BLRC squad took the field to face off against the James Bay firsts at MacDonald Park. The BLRC were missing a few of their normal backs, most notably Rain De Guzman, Barry Bonell and Adam Martin… but such are Island Trips. The squad did bring their big guns in the forwards with the addition of Nate Mantle who made his return to the squad after a lengthy injury rehab. The play was closer than the score line would admit and the “game” James Bay team lived up the standard of their coach (the esteemed Bill Meechan) but the size and physicality of the BLRC forwards kept the game out of reach. I thought that 2nd Row Joel Gusdal stood out for James Bay. He was always in the mix, making solid hits.
But, as mentioned, the story of the game was the BLRC pack. Once Dustin Luther, Kaevon Khoozani, Andy Drummond, Craig McLaughlin, Aaron Goddard, Brad McHugh and Alec Douglas got rolling they proved impossible to stop. BLRC try’s came from Dustin Luther, Andy Drummond, Aaron Goddard, Brad McHugh and the team was also awarded a penalty try after some funny business. Alec Douglas was good on 4 of 5 conversion attempts. A very bright point for the BLRC was that at one point in the 2nd half, the BLRC had 3 players 18 years of age or under on the field. 17 year old flanker Tutsi Vikilani is always a joy to watch on the pitch as no matter which squad he faces, our resident Man-child stands out for his rugby skill and abnormal strength and speed. 18 year old winger Anders Blizzard played the full 80 minutes and had some great runs while playing solid defence and 18 year old Bryce Worden subbed in midway through the 2nd half at Tight head prop. The big East Coast-er was steady in the scrums and introduced himself to a few would-be tacklers with some punishing runs. Next week sees the Blue & White welcome the Meralomas to Burnaby Lake.
BLRC Premier Men 26 – James Bay 21
The BLRC hadn’t won a Premier match at MacDonald Park since 2000. Andrew Eckhart scored the winning try that day and BLRC legends Ryan Banks, Dennis Marsden, Barry Ebl, Marco Agostini, Simon Smoldon and Spencer Robinson graced the pitch in the Blue + White stripes. The past few years have seen the BLRC inch closer and closer to ending the losing streak with the last 2 JBAA MacDonald Park victories decided by a total of 4 points. In attempting to break that embarrassing streak on Saturday, the BLRC would face a stern challenge with James Bay boasting National team standouts Connor Braid, Nick Blevins, Pat Parfrey, Jordan Wilson-Ross and Neil Meechan along with a host of talented sidekicks. On paper, it didn’t look good for the BLRC. Luckily Rugby isn’t played on paper.
The game did not start well for the visitors. The NSMT players dominated the first 5 minutes with Connor Braid proving his worth & hitting a nice drop goal to open the scoring. Blevins followed on the kickoff return, slamming through a handful of BLRC defenders, before offloading to Pat Parfrey who touched down for a try. Braid converted and made the score 10 to 0 before many of the BLRC spares had even donned the sexy puke-green pinnies we insist they wear on the sidelines.
As Braid set up for the convert, it was telling that although the BLRC were on pace to lose 160 to 0, there were no hanging heads in the BLRC end zone; Just a realization from the players that they were letting this game get away from them, and an agreement that the man next to him was going to help them get it back. The Blue & White came flying out for the kickoff and Geoff Ryan would put the ball high allowing Evan Thomas to out leap the JBAA forwards and come down with the ball at full pace. ET made huge yards before offloading to Gurvinder Kalar who bulled his way inside the 5m line. Geoff Ryan would catch the Bays defence off guard and punted a high ball back across the field to Evan Thomas who took it at pace and dove over for the score. Ryan converted and the score was 10-7 for the visitors.
The next 20 minutes was a forwards game as both teams battled for territory and both squads were guilty of mistakes. While not a wet day, the ball seemed slippery in the hands of the ball carriers. With about 10 minutes left in the half, Braid saw a hole in the BLRC defence and tried a cross kick of his own. Wilson-Ross was the recipient and he made some good yards before being tied up by the BLRC. Some great vision on W-R’s part saw a streaking Parfrey and the offload was perfectly weighted allowing the big Newfoundlander to score his 2nd try of the day!
The BLRC battled uphill for the remainder of the half, gaining hard yards inch by inch until they were deep in James Bay territory. With no time left in the first stanza, it appeared that Admir Cejvanovic had scored an important try for the BLRC, but it was deemed that the big #8 had made one motion too many, so the half ended 18-7.
As both sides took their positions for the 2nd kickoff, the already visible bruises and welts covering the arms + legs of the players told the story of the first half. The BLRC would have some fresh legs enter the game at the half in the form of Ryan Ackerman at tight head prop. On the sideline, Steve Batie & James Reekie had been given the 5 minute warning to start getting ready. Perhaps the extra depth was the game changer, as the BLRC looked fresher in the 2nd half. No scoring in the first 20 minutes, but while the game was played at a stalemate, it seemed that the BLRC were now getting the best of the contact and stretching the Bays defence on attack. Inside center James Reekie would finally break through the James Bay Defence when the defenders were paying a bit too much attention to Joe Dolesau. James took a great inside pass from Ryan and went through a defender and around another to score between the posts standing up. Ryan’s convert made the score 18-14.
Evan Thomas would score to put the BLRC in the lead for the first time when the 3rd cross kick of the game resulted in yet another try. The crafty Geoff Ryan glanced to the left and saw that the BLRC had Thomas, McQueen + Dolesau spread wide with only the James Bay tight five defending that side of the field. The high kick was taken wide by Evan who was already past the defenders when he caught it and jogged in for his 2nd of the game. Ryan converted to bring the BLRC ahead 21 to 18.
Thomas would prove the hero on the day, a minute later following a long series of forward crashes from Ackerman, Cejvanovic + Gough that brought the ball to within inches of the JBAA goal line. Scrum half Cody Rockson spun the ball wide to Evan who faked left and dove right for the BLRC’s final points and a 26 to 18 lead.
5 minutes stood between the BLRC and a victory. James Bay is possibly the toughest Premier team to beat at home for a reason, and although they had been bested for the previous 35 minutes they had just been biding their time it seemed. The Bays came out for the kickoff determined not to let their home soil be sullied by the likes of the BLRC and recovered their kickoff, pushing into enemy territory. A series of penalties gave Braid a chance to take 3 points off the deficit and he made good on it. 26-21 with 4 minutes left.
James Bay had the ball off the kickoff and Blevins, Wilson-Ross + Meechan were running hard lines, advancing toward the goal posts. The BLRC couldn’t seem to catch a break at the ruck and are rewarded with a yellow card for their troubles. James Bay opts to put the ball into touch and go for the W off of their maul, but the BLRC defenders turn them away. At every breakdown the ball is fiercely contested for on both sides, but the man in the middle has eyes only for the Blue + White. The BLRC keep turning over the ball, but keep getting penalised to give the James Bay attack just one more chance. James Bay’s attack finally stalls and the BLRC have a chance to end the game, but Mother Nature steps in and the MacDonald Park wind steps up and prevents the clearing kick from finding touch. James Bay is back on attack. Another BLRC penalty sees Dalziel spring Blevins who makes it to the 5m line before Morrey-Jones drags him down. Big Nolan Miles picks + goes, and makes it close, but for the 2nd time that day, a half would be brought to a close at the goal line on a double movement by a #8.
It was the best game that the BLRC have played this year against the toughest team they have faced this year. Big thanks to the James Bay support staff for the excellent hosting and to the James Bay players for the fierce games. Also, just a gentle reminder to Bill + Bev Meechan that they are missed by their Burnaby Lake family!
Many Teams~One Club
