Monday's Musings

(Photo - Rugby Canada)

Canada’s NSWT featuring a number of young ladies on debut, performed very well in Perth as a preamble to the February 21st appearance of the ‘BIG SHOW’ in Vancouver.  Undefeated in Pool play, the women handled Brazil comfortably. Next up was the semi-final against Australia.  The Aussies sped out to a 19 – 0 lead.  Canada clawed back to 17 – 19 and Australia scored a late try when an attempted Canadian intercept failed, opening the door for an overlap and lengthy burst for the winning margin.  Australia then defeated NZ in the Final to win this leg.  Canada met France for ¾ placing.  At 7 – 7 it was anybody’s match until some front-foot defense by France resulted in a turnover and their winning score.  Canada will be much buoyed by their result in this tournament and certainly appears to be good value for the upcoming Vancouver leg.

                                                            Tickets can be purchased HERE


                                                            THE SECOND HALF

It is almost a “given” for CW rugby that the post-Christmas half of the BC rugby season is more productive in terms of results for CW men and women than the “Fall Season”! Our women are often the beneficiary of UVic players many of whom are “graduates” of CW Age Gade programs. The men’s program often sees an infusion of players from other parts of Canada for no consistent or obvious reason.  Our programs get underway this Saturday when the Men’s Divvies play Comox, and the Prems play the Pacific Pride at Windsor.  The Women’s Divvies play Caps at Klahanie with the 2nd Div team playing Westshore at Juan de Fuca.  Further details will be posted when the teams are selected, later in the week.

Given this preamble to the “Second Half”, we asked women’s coach, Caitie McNally, and men’s coach, Ken Goodland what their goals are for the second half of the season and to offer a prediction as to what results the Faithful might expect to see.  From Caitie, “With a strong influx of players, including newcomers to rugby and returning athletes from the varsity program, we’re excited to see our numbers and depth at an all-time high.  For the ‘second half’ our goal is to take it one game at a time. Each match is an opportunity to adapt, learn, and grow in each division. We’re building experience, growing our depth, and fostering a positive, hard-working culture. Heading into the second half, we’re ready to raise the standard and bring a new level of intensity and competition to the field.” And from Ken, "As a coaching staff we have spoken about having both squads in the playoffs as a legitimate goal. We expect the depth to infuse the Divvies with a more consistent approach while simultaneously providing an avenue for our youth to experience men's rugby and develop into future Divvies and Premier players. To that end, we are planning games with a specific U21/23 age focus to support the new Junior grads and other young players. CW U18 coach Brandon Gerhardt has been spearheading this initiative while also starting to assist at men's training to support continuity. We have some new faces joining in the second half and others returning from last year, so we are excited to continue building and pushing for those playoff spots".

Thank you, coaches.


                                                    SIX NATIONS

Opening weekend also sees the commencement of Six Nations action.  Our schedule below provides opportunities to share breakfast with like-minded fans over the duration of the competition.