Rowers drop games on road

VRC lose three away from Brockton

Photos: Malin Jordan

Jamie Overgaard breaks through two Burnaby tacklers before a third
manages to harness the flanker March 16.

After running away with three wins last week, the VRC dropped three road games March 16. With the losses, all three squads are now in tougher spots on the ladder and will need to notch some wins in the season's remaining six weeks if they want to make the playoffs.

3RD DIVISION

The Thirsty Thirds travelled to Winona Park March 16 to face the Burnaby Lake “B” team. Though the game was on and the field was booked, someone forgot to alert the kind-hearted folks at the Vancouver Parks Board. The usually-efficient city employees forgot to put up rugby posts for the tilt and the game went ahead sans uprights.

Both teams battled hard and the momentum pitched back and forth, with both sides retaining most of their ball at the breakdowns. It was a different story in the lineouts though, as Burnaby Lake reeled in all of their own lineouts and managed to hawk about 95 per cent of the Rower’s throw-ins.

Robin Mallinder was a veritable tour de muscle as the power forward charged for yards-after-yards-after-yards each time his mitts seized the rugby ball. Diarmuid Walsh also made some great breaks when he took the ball in hand, as did Rob McDonnell. Ben Jarvis was having a first-half blinder until he broke the triquetral carpal in his right hand after saying hello to a Burnaby prop. Spencer Latu also played a good game with some ramblin' and tramplin’ runs. Though near the end of the half, Burnaby seemed to be winning more ball battles than the Rowing Club.

Robin Mallinder breaks during action versus Burnaby Lake.

Burnaby managed to garner two tries in the first half, to the Rowers’ one, and Le Rouge et Blanc went into the halftime frame down 10 – 5.

Super sub Gareth Brown came on in the second frame and helped a Rowers’ surge that took the game back down into Burnaby’s end. The VRC was eventually rewarded with another rub of the in-goal green and the match was tied at 10. Later in the second half, Burnaby managed to break through and touch a try down in the corner, taking a 15-10 lead.

But the man of the match had to be Jamie "Sweet Pea" Overgaard, as his machine-like performance caused the Burnaby Lakers frustration at every turn. Overgaard beat ruggers from either team to every breakdown, secured continuous Rowing Club ball, and poached a fair share of opposition’s possession. Overgaard even streaked past three Burnaby players -- in a dash for an advantage-played pooch-kick by Si "Shimey" Taylor -- into the Burnaby in-goal for what would have been the game-tying try. Unfortunately, the ref blew the whistle for advantaged played. Burnaby then stopped the VRC on the next play and the match was over.

2ND DIVISION

An abbreviated Vancouver Rowing Club second division – featuring many new players in unfamiliar positions, and without their regular halfbacks – suffered a disappointing loss to Seattle RFCin the Emerald City.

Sacha Floyd was sidelined in the first half by a painful knee injury and several of the flanker’s teammates rolled their ankles and twisted their knees on Magnusson Park’s “Magic Carpet.” The artificial turf is a veritable hospital zone, having also claimed a Rowing Club broken leg in the VRC’s 2012 Seattle bout. Floyd’s injury reduced the Rowers’ numbers to 14 and they were down to 13 at one point in the second half. Uncannily, the exact same situation occurred in 2012.

Rob McDonnell runs with the ball before breaking through two
would-be tacklers and gaining 25-metres.

The ball played sharply off the plastic surface. A twenty-minute period of heavy rain and hail (later described in the Rowers’ locker room as “biblical”) wetted the ball causing handling issues for both sides. Conspicuous in its absence in the artificial environment was traditional dirt, which can add some laudable texture to a rugby ball in wet conditions.

Seattle’s second division had tremendous size, which they used very well – especially at the breakdowns – providing almost no time for the VRC halfback to move the ball and begin a proper attack. They played a very disciplined and powerful game of rugby to best the Rowers by a final score of 48-26.

A novice referee made some curious decisions, did not seem to be concerned with the flow of the game, and seemed to always be in the way, stopping the game no fewer than two times to call obstruction on himself. The Rowers are looking forward to his development as an official.

1ST DIVISION

The Rowing Club’s top side came out of the gate with a strong game, keeping the score close in the first half. The Rowers’ quick young backs were able to move the ball with great speed on Magnusson’s plastic surface, which can be a fast pitch if there are no current manifestations of biblical plagues cascading down on its unrepentant sheen.

Though they never led in the match, the first division seemed to be controlling much of the game for the first half. In the second half, Seattle was able to solve the Rowers’ defense, breaking for several breakaway tries.

At a final score of 48-26, Seattle showed that they are a much better team at home, with a full complement of players, than they tend to be on the road.

A second division Seattle player informed the Ruck Muck after the game that a B.C. Rugby Union bylaw allows Seattle’s opponents to elect to play Seattle’s home games at the opponent’s pitch, to save the visiting team the travel. The tight-head prop also informed the Ruck Muck that the Rowers were the only club thus far who made the jaunt down I-5. He expressed gratitude on behalf of his club for allowing the SRFC their first true home game.

March 23

11:30 a.m. 3rds vs. Abbotsford RFC (Brockton Oval)
1:00 p.m. 2nds vs. Abbotsford RFC (Brockton Oval)
2:30 p.m. 1sts vs. Abbotsford RFC (Brockton Oval)

Seeing Red: Photos of the Day

Red cards colour Rowers' tilt with Richmond

Photos: Malin Jordan

Red Card 1: Joshua Schreiber flies into Richmond's inside centre early in the
first half. Notice the ball leaving the frame of the photo at the top edge.

Red Card 2: Kevin Gurniak gets dumped by Richmond's fullback late in the
second half after a 40-metre kick return.

The Rowing Club's first division clash with Richmond was tinted red March 9 when two players, one from each squad, were sent off. Joshua Schreiber received one (top) for a late hit, and Richmond's fullback received one for a dump tackle on Kevin Gurniak (bottom). See below for close-up shots. You be the judge. Were the reds warranted?

Schreiber.

Gurniak.

Max Buckle is up in arms over the Gurniak hit.

VRC speeds to success at the Oval

Rowers clash with Richmond RFC, take three wins at home

Photos: Malin Jordan

Caleb Hansen runs in a late second-half try, sealing a 37-30 win for the
Rowing Club over Richmond RFC March 9 at Brockton Oval.

After a one-month absence from Brockton Oval, the Vancouver Rowing Club battled their way to three hard-fought wins March 9.

The thirds began the day with a 43-10 win, the seconds won 62-7, and the firsts garnered a 37-30 bonus-point win. With the victories, the club captured the inaugural Canada Line Cup.

3RDS

The Thirsty Thirds (2-1) opened their match on the back foot after gifting an early three to Richmond in the first few minutes of play. But the Rowers managed to turn the momentum in their favour as the forward pack offered some solid rambling from open play. Spencer Latu and Robin Mallinder led the way and the rest of the forwards rucked well, retaining possession on their own ball and turning over some of Richmond’s ball at key points in the first half.

Tugboat goes for a run after sidestepping a would-be Richmond tackler in
third division play. 

It didn’t take long for the Rowers to break through the Richmond line, scoring successive tries at the mid-way point of the frame to go up 12-3. A seesaw battle continued with some intense tackling and sustained pressure from both sides.

Near the end of the half, Travis Sheppard picked the ball and smashed through would-be tacklers carrying it to opposition's tryline. On a subsequent ruck, the Rowers’ pack punched through another try. Connor Walsh added the convert and the Rowers were up by 16 points at the half-time whistle.

But it was a tale of two halves as a tight first frame gave way in the second to some wide-open running rugby by the Rowers. The thirds started their second half with good momentum, running back the opening kickoff for a try. Chris Gayden led the way with some long runs, scoring two tries in the process.

Chris Gayden runs in for a try against Richmond.

Although the score was lopsided, Richmond fought hard and played well. They were rewarded for their efforts late in the game when they crossed the line for a consolation try. Final score: 43-10.

Scoring Summary
Tries: Gayden (2), Nick Coles, Mallinder, Franco Scodeller, Malin Jordan, Nikola Samija. Conversions: Walsh (4).

2NDS

The VRC Second Division (10-1) executed a convincing victory at home against their Richmond RFC counterparts, as they furthered their undefeated second half in the Okanagan Spring Brewery League 2.

The Rowers came out of the locker room ready for a tough Richmond side, scoring early and never looking back on their way to a 62-7 bonus-point win.

Richie Thompson breaks a tackle outside the 22-metre line. He finished
his short sprint by touching the ball down between the posts.

The seconds executed well from set pieces, and from re-starts, breaking down a formidable Richmond defense with a high paced-pattern. Scrum half Duncan James did a good job spreading the ball around, and showed very good ball awareness on his way to a two-try performance.

Utility forward Gareth Brown, coming off a three-try game two weeks ago in Langley, was instrumental recovering the ball from restarts. He also finished the day with two tries in a performance abbreviated by the coaching staff, presumably to save him for precious minutes in the first division.

Irish fullback Rob McDonnell converted five Rowers tries on the afternoon, and scored two tries of his own. Also crossing the line for a rub of the green on a busy afternoon were fly half Richie Thompson, centre-back Scyler Dumas, and designated-Frenchman Jon Mergui.

The second div defence played well all game, holding Richmond and their pack-dominated crash-ball game to only seven points.

Dan Smith stretches for a lineout ball in first half
action versus Richmond.

Scoring Summary
Tries: Brown (2), James (2), McDonnell (2), Thompson, Dillon Debono, Dumas, Mergui. Conversions: McDonnell (5), Thompson.

1STS

With playoff implications on the line, Coach Jeremy Sabell impressed upon the first division squad the importance of their tilt with the Richmond RFC. A win would garner the Rowers a second place tie with Abbotsford, whereas a loss would leave the squad spinning their wheels, as Richmond would catch them in the standings, moving both squads into a tie for third. (Only the top three Mainland Division teams make the playoffs.)

Nolan Laderoute dives in for a try in the first division match up.

Knowing this, the Rowers came out of the gates hard, opening the scoring early with a converted try. Soon after, the firsts gave a penalty away inside their 22-metre line. Richmond replied with a penalty goal, bringing the score to 7-3.

Both teams played a tight match through the first half. The Rowers had to double-up their defensive cover play after the 20th minute when standout-rookie-flanker Josh Schreiber was lost to a red card for a late hit. In spite of being short a player, the Rowers’ Nolan Laderoute, Caleb Hansen and Karl Mudzamba managed to punch over tries and the squad went into the half-time break up 24-8.

In the second half Richmond continued to run hard at the Rowers and move the ball well. They too played some stingy defense and the squad from the Fraser River delta slowly clawed themselves back into the match.

Michael Jordan prepares to crash into two Richmond tacklers.

As hard running play from both sides opened up the game, both teams took advantage of each other’s fatigue, sending quicker players for trots through disorganized defenses.

Near the end of the half, when the game was still in doubt, fullback Kevin Gurniak fielded a deep Richmond kick inside his own 22-metre line. Using his characteristic speed to find space, he buzzed up the East side of the field for a 40-metre return before becoming the victim of a Richmond dump tackle that earned that player the game’s second red card. With both squads at 14 men, the swinging battle settled for the last few minutes and the Rowing Club (8-3) brought the bonus-point victory home. Final score: 37-30.

Caleb Hansen was a notable standout and earned the coveted Hammer Award for the biggest hit of the day. Hansen augmented his defensive play with a three-try performance. Karl Mudzamba and young hooker Nolan Laderoute rounded out the try chart, while halfback Henry Recinos hit three of five conversion attempts and added two penalty goals.

“This past weekend was a great one for the whole club,” noted Sabell. He said the club battled their way to three solid wins and played some very positive rugby, despite facing the adversity in the first division match after Schreiber’s early exit. “It was a good step forward, and now we need to take the next step -- Seattle in Seattle is a big challenge.”

Scoring Summary
Tries: Hansen (3), Laderoute, Mudzamba. Conversions: Recinos (3). Penalty goals: Recinos (2).

See tomorrow’s Ruck Muck for a comparison of the two red cards in the match.

March 16

11:30 a.m. 3rds @ Burnaby “B” (Rupert Park)
1:00 p.m. 2nds @ Seattle RFC (Warren G. Magnuson Park)
2:30 p.m. 1sts @ Seattle RFC (Warren G. Magnuson Park)

Henry Recinos makes a break late in the second half.

Gareth Brown runs in one of his two tries.

Rob McDonnell in second div action.

Jamie Overgaard and Jason Martel in 3rd div action.

Dave Hall in second div action.

Ben Jarvis makes a tackle in 3rd div action.

Rowers at home this weekend

All squads play at Brockton

After a rainout at Brockton Oval last week, the Vancouver Rowing Club faces Richmond at home this weekend in all three divisions.

Game times for Saturday, March 9

11:30 – 3rd XV vs. Richmond
13:00 – 2nd XV vs. Richmond
14:30 – 1st XV vs. Richmond

February 23

Two weeks ago, the firsts and seconds won, while the thirds lost.
Firsts downed Langley: 34-7
Seconds beat Langley: 32-10
Thirds fell to Chilliwack: 25-17. Scoring tries for the thirds were: Nikola Samija, Jorelle Almeda, & Simon Taylor.