Battle set for Brockton Oval

Rowers look for redemption in rematch--

The VRC seconds take on Kamloops Oct. 13 at Rayleigh Rugby Park.
While the seconds won their match 75-25 that day, the firsts fell to
Kamloops 32-25.

After a tough road loss to Kamloops in October, the first division finally has a shot at redemption. This weekend the Rowing Club faces Kamloops RFC at Brockton Oval. The first division lost in Kamloops earlier this year 32-25.

Both squads posted road wins last weekend against the Surrey Beavers and the VRC could take the sting out of the winter break by closing out this half of the season with two more victories.

Member-at-large Matty James is encouraging all fans and alumni to make it down to the pitch in Stanley Park for the final match of the half. (He also noted that anyone who wants tickets to the Dec. 15 Christmas party, could grab them from him at the same time.)

1STS

The fourth-place Rowers (5-2) only fell short of Kamloops (6-2) by seven points in their previous encounter. Currently, the KRC holds down third place in the log, but the Rowers could leapfrog them win a bonus-point win.

This weekend the Rowers desperately need to start better than they did last week, as they had to battle back from an early 19-point deficit.

2NDS

The Super Twos (6-1) downed Kamloops (2-6) by a 75-25 margin in the Thompson River Valley Oct. 13. The squad is also looking to start better than they did last week when they too gave up an early lead. The squad battled from behind and eventually won, led by Jonathan Mergui’s two-try performance.

Kick off times at Brockton Oval:

1:00 Second XV vs Kamloops
2:30 First XV vs Kamloops

Rowers pick up two wins in Surrey

Both squads underscore victory with bonus-point win--

By Braden Maccke

Nick Coles runs in for a try as the Rowers battle Surrey at Brockton Oval
earlier this year. The VRC travelled to Surrey Nov. 24 and won both their
matches against the Beavers.

The Vancouver Rowing Club secured two solid wins Nov. 24 after downing the Surrey Beavers in firsts and seconds. Both teams ran in four-plus try perfomances to score the maximum five victory points, while Surrey's first division side garnered a bonus-point loss.

2NDS

The Rowing Club 2nd division arrived at Sullivan Athletic Park on a cold November morning in scattered fashion. An accident on the Alex Fraser Bridge complicated traffic and delayed the Rowers warm-up.

But the Super-Twos started strong, nevertheless, as new centre-back "Bonny Irish" Colm ran in an early try around the fifth minute. Fly-half Richie Thompson slotted the conversion and the Rowers had the early momentum with a 7-0 lead.

Despite the try, the Surrey Beavers stuck to a pack-dominant inside game and clearly out-rucked the visiting side. After notching a penalty goal, the Beavers launched a goal-line attack that lasted several minutes. The onslaught saw three scrums at the five-metre line and the Beavers finally crossed over to score an unconverted try, taking the lead 8-7.

On the ensuing re-start, Rowing Club flanker, Ben Keith, was knocked unconscious in a tackle, bringing a tense moment, and an early half-time, as he was attended to by paramedics. Keith eventually left the field under his own power, to everyone's relief.

Surrey continued their forward-attacking game play in the second half, but the VRC defense continually held strong. Bolstered by the power running of a resurgent Jonathan Mergui (who replaced the injured Keith), the Beavers were relegated to the back foot as the tide of momentum shifted into the Rowers' favour. The well-drilled Rowing Club then took advantage of each opportunity, scoring four unanswered tries in the second half to come away with a 27-8 victory.

Returning after recovering from a serious neck injury, Mergui led the try parade. "It was my birthday and the first time I ever scored two tries in a game!" he exclaimed after the match. "Bonny Irish" Colm also crossed the line twice, and the other substitute flanker, Gareth Brown, added a try of his own. Eight-man Colin “John C. Riley” Robinson also had a stalwart game quarterbacking the VRC scrum.

Although rucking and defense were not executed at the standard to which the 2nds hold themselves, the club can be happy with the victory and the bonus point.

1STS

The Club’s top side came out flat against Surrey, surrendering a 19-0 lead early on. Realizing they were unprepared for the level of game the Beavers were bringing, the Rowing Club rallied around the outstanding rucking and inside-ball play of pack-leader Phil Hosie. After Hosie unleashed some dominant play at the breakdowns his squad answered with a converted try.

But Surrey battled right back and scored another converted try, restoring their 19-point lead, making it 26-7.

Undeterred, the Rowing Club opened the game up with even more hard rucking. This allowed them to win some critical ball at the breakdowns, in turn, allowing for some creative back-line play. The Rowers built on that momentum to keep themselves in contention and eventually opened up the game, running in try after try.

Carlin “Chuck Norris” Wilkin had an outstanding game, scoring two tries, breaking for numerous large gains, and provoking spectator reactions with his many hard hits. Wilkin earned the coveted VRC Match-Day Hammer from Coach Sabell for his efforts.


Centre-back Scyler Dumas, full-back Matty James, tight-head prop Sean Dignan, and second-row Phil Hosie, all contributed tries, three of which were converted by fullback Doug Crowe. Crowe also added a penalty kick to seal the dramatic 19-point deficit comeback. Final score: VRC 39 – Surrey Beavers 26. Rowers Head Coach Jeremy Sabell, clearly proud of his charges, commented that the game was “really neat to watch.”

Both sides face Kamloops at the Oval this weekend. See Thursday's Ruck-Muck for a match breakdown.

*This story has been edited from a previous version.

Thirsty Thirds suffer defeat; big weekend ahead for 1's and 2's

VRC's Thirds lose in the shield semi-final—

The Thirsty Thirds' fall season came to an end Nov.17 after they suffered a big defeat in the 3rd Division Shield semi-final. Battling the Bayside Sharks at South Surrey Athletic Park, the Surrey squad proved to be too much for the Rowers as the Sharks piled on try after try, winning the match 51-0.

The thirds will start a fresh season in February. The new spring season may see a revamped 3rd division alignment that may split the current 16-team league into two tiers -possible an eight-team 'A' and 'B' division.

This Weekend

The Rowers’ first and second squads take to the road this weekend to battle the Surrey Beavers in the VRC's penultimate games of the first half. Both squads have been idle since Nov. 3 when they both suffered defeats away to Abbotsford. The VRC's top two teams will be looking to notch a “W” back in the win column and build some momentum before rematches against Kamloops Dec. 1 at Brockton Oval.

1's

VRC's firsts (4-2) are sitting in fourth place in the log as the sixth place Beavers (3-4) look to make it two wins in a row after drubbing Seattle RFC 43-0 at home last week. The Beaver's are hoping to move ahead of Richmond and take sole possession of fifth place with a win over the Rowers.

2's

The Rowers' seconds squad (5-1) are currently in third place after suffering their only defeat of the season Nov. 3. The Surrey Beavers (4-3) currently hold fourth spot in the log, four points behind the Rowers, after garnering a bonus point in a tight loss to Seattle - 24-23 - at Sullivan Heights last week. Surrey is hoping to supplant the Super Twos for third place overall with a bonus-point win.

Nov. 24

Kick off at Surrey's Sullivan Heights Park:
1:00 p.m. Second XV vs. Surrey
2:30 p.m. First XV vs. Surrey

The future looks bright for the Rowers

Mini ruggers at VRC Club Day Sept. 22.

Successful summer bolsters club--

By Ian Cooper

This past summer saw some significant representative action from VRC Age Grade Rugby players, with a gold medal performance at the U14 Festival in Oakville, Ontario, gold medal performances in Sherbrooke from the U18 and U16 men, and Academy representation in the U20 IRB Trophy Tournament and U20 fixtures vs the USA.

VRC Academy

Academy players Noah Barker, Gradyn Bowd and Doug Crowe travelled with Canada to the U20 World Trophy this summer while Caleb Hansen trialled for Canada U20 vs USA and played in 2 matches for the BC Tyee Senior Men’s team in the CRC competition. Meanwhile, down in Brisbane, three Academy players are going into action in their respective Colts Divisions to vie for Grand Final titles: Sean Hickson, Connor Leduc and Ryan Chapman.

Gradyn Bowd crashes Richmond's line last year at King George Park.
Bowd travelled with Canada's U20 squad last summer along with Noah
Barker and Doug Crowe (not pictured).

U18

At U18, after a taxing semifinal against bitter rivals Ontario, BC hit their stride during Sunday's championship final as they recorded six tries en route to a 40-16 final victory over Alberta.  Vancouver Rowing Club U18 player Robert Fenton was a standout during all matches.

U16

During the U16 tournament, final play found a tightly contested final between the country's biggest rivals, the BC-1 Gold U16 men's team led from start to finish narrowly defeating Ontario-1 by a score of 15-13. BC took a comfortable 12-0 lead into half time through tries by Theo Sauder (Vancouver Rowing Club) and Jack Nyren (Castaway Wanderers RFC)  with Nyren providing the conversion.  Representing the Rowing club were stalwarts Alexi Bonnis, Marc Levin, Reegan O'Gorman and Theo Sauder.

U14

Mini ruggers at VRC Club Day Sept. 22.

The U14 Boy's National Interprovincial Festival wrapped up Sept. 7 with British Columbia's 'Growl' defeating Ontario 15-0 in the 15-a-side tournament final.  Four of our young stars represented the Rowers: Will Sauder (Theo’s younger brother), Owen Pitblado (James’ younger brother), Sam Turner, and Gavin Humphries. Congratulations to all.

The future looks bright for Rowers Rugby!

Rowers lose in Abbotsford

VRC suffers three losses in Fraser Valley

Photos: Malin Jordan

Henry Recinos slots three for the Rowers in their
29-3 loss to Abbotsford Nov. 3.

The weather was miserable, the pitch was soggy, and the nothing went the Rowers’ way Nov. 3 as Abbotsford soundly defeated all three VRC squads at CFV Exhibition Park. “We didn't get the results we wanted, despite the efforts, and sometimes that's they way it goes,” head coach Jeremy Sabell said after the matches.

3RDS

As the heavy rain began to pound the pitch, the Thirsty Thirds limped out of the gate. Their sluggish start was evident from the kick off as Abbotsford posted a try one minute into the match. Abbotsford added two more tries in the first 5 minutes and the Thirsties were down 21-0. After the third-try wake-up-call, the Rowers started to finish tackles and started to hit the rucks with force, making a game out of the match. Abby added a late try in the half to make it 26-0.

The Rowers continued to fight in the second, despite the lopsided scoreline. Abbotsford added two more tries in the half but they didn’t break the Rowers line for long runs like they did in the infancy of the first frame. Final score: 38-0. Next game: Shield playoff round, Nov. 17. (The probable match up is @ Klahanie vs. Cap “B.”)

2NDS

Duncan James off loads to David Andersen in 2nd
division action about 10 metres out from the goal line.

The Rowers 2nd division played well against Abbotsford in what had to be one of the muddiest games on record. Despite the conditions, the referee made it clear early that he would consider the ball free of the ruck the instant a player put two hands on it. This made for a much slower game than it already was.

Andersen carried two Abbotsford defenders five metres
before touching the ball down for a try.

But the Rowers rucked well in the muck, though they were unable to establish any momentum in a game characterized by frequent knock-ons, and a lack of fluidity.

Later in the game, the Rowers pressed for a try with a sustained goal-line attack, but it was cut short on a questionable knock-on call. The errant slip deflated a critical scoring chance. Following the knock-on, Abbotsford scored a try after a series of kick-and-chase punts that spanned 90 metres, and the Super Twos never recovered from there.

Abbotsford won the game 31-20 and came away with a bonus point. The Rowers are no doubt looking forward to the rematch March 23 at Brockton Oval. The squad (5-1) falls to third place with the loss. Next game: Nov. 24 at Surrey.

1STS

The day didn’t get any better for the Rowing Club when the first division squad took the field. Although the Rowers started with some momentum, playing in the Abbotsford end in the beginning of the game, they couldn’t convert their early possession into very many points.

The Rowers hit an early three but failed to build on it. Abbotsford played well and retained most of their ball in rucks and mauls. Final score: 29-3. The squad (4-2) falls to fourth place with the loss. Next game: Nov. 24 at Surrey.

Braden Maccke rambles through some Abbotsford defenders early
in the game Nov. 3.

Braden Maccke.

Braden Maccke.

Rowers win at home

Rowers deliver two wins on their return to Brockton--

Matty James takes a pop pass from Kevin Gurniak in a playoff game
against Seattle RFC from last spring. James then jumped across the line for a try.

By Braden Maccke


The Rowers continued their winning ways last weekend after taking two wins at home. Coming off victories over Richmond the week before, the VRC continued to build momentum by downing Seattle in both the firsts and seconds. The thirds fell to the Capilano “A” team in the first match of the day at the Oval.

1STS

The game began on a slick pitch, soaked by the rain, and mashed by three previous games. In a physical and muddy opening, Seattle struck first with two penalty kicks to go up 6-0.

Karl Mudzamba broke first for the Rowers after being fed a pass on the run just before the opposing 22-metre line. Mudzamba looked as though he was going to put the home side on the board as he streaked past defenders untouched. However, as he slid across the line, under the posts, he was ruled to have knocked the ball on. The call was roundly mocked on the Rowers’ sideline.

Seattle won the ensuing scrum and kicked the ball deep near winger Kevin Gurniak. Gurniak scooped the ball off the deck around the Rowers’ twenty-two and started to race toward the Seattle end. He carved his way through the opposition with incredible pace and crossed the try line, garnering the Rowers their first points of the day. Halfback Henry Recinos converted Gurniak’s try to put the Rowers up by a point, and they never looked back.

The game was a physical one, characterized by hard runs on a wet pitch. Dan Smith, Connor Leduc, Ottawa-import Ben Keith, and Henry Recinos all crossed the line. Recinos added a penalty and two conversions.

Seattle tried to work their way back into the match in the second half, scoring two tries, but the Rowers’ top side was able to hold on for a 34-23 victory, complete with a bonus point. The Rowers (4-1) are now in second place behind UBC (4-0). Kamloops fell to third after losing at home to UBC 16-5.

2NDS

The Rowers’ B-side came into the game undefeated in the Okanagan Springs 2nd tier, and eager to defend their home pitch against a hungry Seattle side.

The Rowers posted points early, scoring three converted tries before the visitors could reply with one of their own.

Gareth Brown jukes past Seattle defenders in this Ruck Muck file photo.

Brockton Oval was a rain-soaked mess and the Rowers played accordingly. Halfback Duncan James wisely kept the ball in the inside channels and gave the pack a chance to ruck well and consistently recycle their own ball. The Rowers were up 31-7 at the half.

Discipline was an issue in the 2nd half as flanker Quinn Cowie received a yellow card for a high tackle. The other side of the back row, Logan Seabourin joined his teammate in the bin less than a minute later for uninvited comments to the referee. (Seabourin was informed after the game that Rowing Club policy requires that all players who are penalized for back-chatting the ref must buy a round of drinks for their team. The rookie commented that he would “pay for it with [his] magical fairy money.”)

Seabourin and Cowie had three tries between the two of them on the day, helping their team to a solid 41-12 victory. Fly half Richard Thompson kicked very well and kept the home team in good field position. Thompson converted three tries in bad weather. Colin “John C” Robinson, the 8-man, was named man of the match.

With the win, the squad remains undefeated at 5-0.

3RDS

The Thirsty Thirds fell to the Cap “A” squad 24-0. The Rowers didn’t win a single lineout, but played well in all other areas of the game.

Nov. 3

All three teams are away to Abbotsford. Games kick off at 11:30 at CFV Exhibition Park. The Rowers’ next home games are Dec. 1 at the Oval when the first division squad will look to avenge their loss in Kamloops from Oct. 13.