Monday's Musings

November 10, 2025 Posted in News / Victoria BC / Rugby Club / Fundraiser / CW Rugby / Canada Rugby / B.C. Rugby / Fifteens / NSMT

Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, northern France.

NEVER FORGET!

Today, I quote from the Sunday Telegraph (UK). “Canada’s purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of Canada’s entire population of 7,000,000 served in the armed forces during the First World War and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.

The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore. Canada finished the war with the third largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time.

The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peacekeepers on earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia."

Today’s photo really shows six degrees of separation is true. In 2015, prior to travelling to France’s northern coast graveyards, I promised Johno that I would look at registers to see if I could find the tombstone of his dad’s best friend who gave up his life in 1944, serving for the Regina Rifle Regiment. Sure enough, in this cemetery I found Lance Seargent, Wilfred Hicks and when I sent the photo record of his tombstone, he flooded with tears.

This cemetery is one of many in northern France, maintained in gratitude to the Allies who fought for our democracy and freedom. May we, and our offspring NEVER forget in these global testing times.

DIVVIES NOTCH A ROAD WIN

Captain Riley with M-o-M,Hugh Mager and Marshall Stove.

This was a very good day for the Divvies. They jumped out to an early 10 – 0 lead, with all the points coming from Charlie Kerr. Charlie would go on to contribute 18 on the day. The boys had a 17 – 0 lead at the half and were on fire. This success bore further fruit with four more tries added in the second half, for a final 45 – 12 victory. Rhett Ester bagged a hat-trick on the day, and Comox brace of tallies came late in the match with CW under two yellow cards (13 men). The Div 1 record now moves to 3 – 3 and they are slowly moving up the ladder. Good job, all.

NSMT

Canada went down to Romania, 31 – 21 on Saturday. Canada’s team offered no great glimpses of hope, #25 ranked, scoring an 83 minute try for a “respectable” scoreline vs #21. 4 tries to 2. For pundits who unsuccessfully sought out the game to view, the few reports I have gleaned are not especially favorable. Meanwhile, Georgia, Canada’s next up opponents defeated the US 43 – 20.

Last week we reported further reduction in teams in the MLR. Today, we bring readers a direct quote from Goff Rugby Report

“Ownership profligacy. A spending race among ownership, often with a clear disregard for the spirit, if not the letter, of the salary cap rules has helped lead to these teams dropping out. Too many owners thought about spending money to win the league rather than investing time and effort to build the league's following.

Closing loopholes. Paying star (and we use that term advisedly) players with accommodations, transportation, or for work outside playing for the rugby team still costs money to a club, but skirts the salary cap. This has to be controlled.

Driving fan engagement through use of local players. GRR has been tooting this horn for some years—teams can leverage local high school and college rivalries by signing local players. Those local players bring a fan base, and they should be a) on the gameday roster and b) front and center for the team's marketing.

Understanding that fan engagement is how the league grows, not franchise fees or signing international players who are known to diehard rugby fans but don't move the needle for casual fans.”

Interesting thoughts to ponder!

ELSEWHERE

NZ All Blacks went 2 – 0 on their Four Nations Northern Hemisphere Tour when they defeated Scotland 25 – 17 in a game which was far superior in quality to their Ireland victory in Chicago with 62,000 fans, one week ago. The Chicago match would have sold very few of the uninitiated on the game of rugby. England went to 2 – 0 after their back-to-back wins over Australia (25 – 7), and Fiji (38 – 15). Argentina hammered Wales at Cardiff Arms, 62 – 28, confirming their world #6 ranking. Italy took the wind out of Australia’s sails with a 26 – 19 victory. Australia drops to #7 and seems to be on a slippery slope. In South Africa, the Republic defeated France 32 – 17. Finally, Ireland “bounced back”
with a 41 – 10 rout over Japan.

Saracen’s women’s rugby defeated Bristol, 33 -12 following their previous shellacking of Harlequins, 47 – 10. Canadians, Apps and Corrigan notched tries against Bristol, with Corrigan getting a brace against Quins! Canadian Laetitia Royer has been starting at lock.

A GALA WEEK FOR CW

Private in-home Chef Dinner for 8 with Wine and Cleaning! A private dining experience, brought to you by iBali - a local Victoria-owned and operated, private chef and boutique catering company. The experience includes an exclusive, seasonally inspired, 7 course dining experience for 8 guests, with bespoke wine pairings by local sommelier, Callum Heap.

The menu will be curated with the winner to their individual tastes and preferences, whilst showcasing the best Victoria has to offer. The whole experience includes a 7- course menu with wine pairings, a server for the evening, iBali’s high-end plate ware, crystal ware and cutlery as well as consultation time to curate the winner’s bespoke menu. Delivering an unforgettable dining experience, in the comfort of your own home.

Included with this package:
$600 of wine for pairings with the dinner
Donated by Don Swainson
$500 cleaning certificate from Molly Maids
Donated by Aaron Abrams
Total Value ~ $3,600

This auction item is but one of several excellent opportunities for on-line BIDDING.

There are literally a handful (5), of last-minute tickets for Thursday night’s Gala HERE.