Successful Weekend at Westshore, Sets the Scene for Home Opener This Saturday, Sept. 26th

It was a wonderful day of rugby at the new Westshore Rugby Club, this past Saturday, Sept. 19th. CW congratulates Westshore on the move, which represents a very positive step for rugby in the South Island. The pitch and fieldhouse are superb. With the growth of the western communities, the well organized and well led Westshore RFC will inevitably do well. CW welcomes the competition from this new/old rival and all of our teams are looking forward to future matches at this fabulous new facility.

CW Women’s Report
CW 24 Westshore 61

It has been a tale of 2 different games for the start of the inaugural CW women's program. From the high of a confidence building result vs Nanaimo on the previous weekend to the reality of playing the Premiership champions the next. The Westshore Womens program has a strong and storied history and it was on show on this past weekend at their new facility in the Westshore.

With a team that was only missing 1 or 2 players from its team that won championship final last season, the Westshore Valkyries exerted strong forward pressure throughout the match with strong running from their tight five and back row. CW women defended bravely and kept in touch on the scoreline up to the second half with strong back play and tries by Charity Williams/Julianne Zussman. However, by the 2nd half, the pressure at scrum time took its toll with a CW womens prop having to leave the field resulting in uncontested scrums being played for the rest of the game. This actually worked to CW’s advantage and gave them a platform to attack without the set piece pressure. However, the Westshore Valkyries had established a strong lead and added to it in the 2nd half with further pressure.

In the end, with the amount of defending asked of the CW women and the depth of the Westshore bench, the CW women's team was unable to mount any real comeback in the 2nd half. However, there was lots of positives especially with fitness and creative running from the team. Strong running by Laura Crowe-Hutchon, Marlene Nedved and the backline, notably, Charity Williams, demonstrated that this team will be a threat in the future as they continue to develop and grow the program. Special kudos to the ladies that battled in the engine room against some formidable opposition. The CW women's program face Cowichan women at the CW home opener this Saturday at Windsor Park at 11:30am. Come out and cheer them on !

CW Division 1 Report
CW 24 (3t, 2p) Westshore 13 (2t, 1p).  At the half CW 10 Westshore 5

A solid performance from the ones, with much of the first half spent in the Westshore half of the field, the ones led 10-5 at half-time. Westshore brought the game within 2 points in the second half to make it an exciting contest. CW withstood a great deal of pressure from a larger Westshore pack and mid-field, but defensive work the previous week paid off. An unfortunate injury to starting CW scrum half Jon Kirk, led to a battlefield reassignment of newcomer Riley Turchet to the 9 position. Riley T. faired well and served the ball effectively to Sam Rocher who at flyhalf was able to marshall the CW attack to end the game ahead with a score of 24 to 13 in favour of CW. Jordan Henderson at Captain did a good job leading the lads and keeping them calm when the game got tight;  John Moar scored a nice try as did Joel Brattan.  Taylor Gudgeon added a power try with drive through the middle, something he is becoming know for in matches, and Alek Selzers added to the score line for a 4th try resulting in a CW bonus point.  Sam Rocher was good for a couple of tough conversions. Head Coach Roger Robinson was happy with the outing, but commented "the loss of our scrum half is obviously disappointing, however, there was much improvement defensively from the previous week's match vs. Nanaimo. With a solid commitment to training, we will be ready for the Bay  (JBAA) at home next Saturday" 

CW Premier Report
CW 62 (10t, 6c) Westshore 28 (4t, 4c) At the half CW 38 Westshore 7

Perfect field and weather conditions welcomed the CW squad to the new Westshore facilities.  As the scoreline shows, CW had the run of play for much of the match; credit goes to the Westshore lads who weathered a lengthy storm to rebound and score late into the game thereby securing the always coveted bonus point for 4 tries on the day.  The CW forward control and attack was nice to watch but to this writer it seems Coaches Hyde-Lay and Lindwall have some very capable backs on their hands…..in just their first game together their skill and efforts were well rewarded…..it would be fair to suggest more to come as time/experience together will produce exciting results. Prop Jason Allen was this scribe’s pick of the pack with his front row control and around the field play.  In the backs another highlight player was Anton Ngongo…..a young lad up from the CW Mini and Junior ranks who very quietly has a confident and aware sense about him during the run of play.  The Westshore lads picked as CW men of the match Regan Crosland (#10 with 2 tries and 6 conversions) and Nate Oliver (one try on the day….last seasons CW MVP)

CW Prem will recover from injuries (of note the Westshore #9 injured during play is reported to be ok and will be back quickly….best wishes from all the CW Lads); CW will say goodbye to some guys off the watch the WC; we will welcome in a few new faces…..and prepare for the 2015/16 version of the 100 Years War at Windsor vs the mighty JBAA organization….should be a beauty.  See you at Windsor Saturday Sept 26th.