Monday's Musings

  Ravens School Tricolours

Compliments of The Sage – (Ed. - not too much content, guess he’s still collecting his breath!)

UBCOB Hosts flexed their pedigree on Saturday as current BCRU Champs, chalking up a whopping 36 point half time, positive differential and keeping CW from crossing their line in a very one-sided affair. The second half went CW’s way 14 – 12 but the foot was no doubt, off the pedal at this stage. It was a creative and speedy attack that did the damage with Sandover-Best and McLelland as standouts. There was the beginning of the recovery process taking place on the return journey home but there will not be much time for reflection or correction on the practise pitch as the boys will face Westshore this Thursday night, under the lights at Juan De Fuca. The Prems Hard Hat was earned by Luke Bradley.

The main game was prefaced by another Old Boy’s win. Despite our web pundit opining that a CW win would not surprise, the score line read as if the Rippers had taken offense to this prognostication! This one was tight at the half but UBCOB scored 24 unanswered points in their second half outburst. Final Rippers 36, CW 11. Quinn Horton earned the Divvies Hard Hat. (The Sage)

Ed. The Premier league table is now very tight at the top with Burnaby leaping into the top spot with 53 points from 12 games; UBC 52 points from 13 games; CW 49 points from 12 games and UBCOB 46 points from 12 games. Every game for our chaps will be vital to win and must be taken one at a time, meaning a hungry Westshore will need to be overcome on Thursday. Fans will be licking their chops about the upcoming match at Windsor Vs Burnaby. The age old adage that a team is happy when their fate is under their own control befits all of the top four with terriers nipping to cause upsets in the remaining games.

Men's ARC Action.  Half-time action on Friday night saw local youth on the field performing in front of a very appreciative crowd.  It truly was a weekend of plenty of rugby.  The games started on Friday night when Canada's NSMT dropped a 39 – 23 decision to Argentina.  This pundit gives credit for an overall, better than expected effort, outstandingly led by Captain Rumball’s efforts, and matched by a tireless performance from Kyle Baillie.  The ARC series concludes with Canada facing the U.S. in Seattle this Friday evening.  From a CW perspective, Dougie Fraser had a great showing upon his insertion with heaps of energy, seeking to make a difference.

HSBC Men's Sevens.  It was disappointing that HSBC Sevens geographically blocked the Vegas Sevens however HUGE kudos to CBC Sports who televised the complete event with excellent commentary and download resolution. Should you be unable to get to Vancouver this weekend, this is the source I would recommend for the action and let them know your appreciation. As is usual with sevens, there were plenty of surprises – Canada’s last second loss to Samoa who went on to play U.S.A. in the Championship Final being a biggie for our boys. Suffice the details for this report but it was a mental error. Further, Argentina’s last play of the game pool upset of the U.S.; Chile’s 5 – 5 tie with RSA and now it’s all over the U.S. win gives them a little breathing space at the top of the heap. Canada retained their 11th place spot in the show with a mixed bag of results.

I cannot praise Nate Hirayama enough. He is so special to watch and he topped the Vergas Tourney for point scoring. Connor Braid gave another quality effort and led all ball carriers in the tournament. I thought Mullet McCloskey had his best tournament for some time, filling in for Pat Kay, Luke made some good decisions and showed fair pace. Thiel had a very good tourney and should he progress at the level he showed in Vegas, he will be a pleasant surprise. Mullins had some moments as did Fuli and Harry Jones came through unscathed, having had his shoulder tested in a number of hard tackles. With all these kudos, it would seem that the overall result would be better. In fact the case is that almost all of the teams can have good and bad moments, games and tournaments and they are just so close that the slightest error can make the difference. Canada has drawn a challenging pool for Vancouver a mere three days away – Fiji, Samoa and Kenya. It is to be hoped that with the home field, the boys might get the rub of the green on a couple of occasions and even if they don’t, they are good value to watch in my books! Go, Big Red Machine.