BC’s U19 men’s Provincial squad kick off a four day schedule as they focus on a national title at the U19 Canadian Rugby Championship in Edmonton.
From Thursday (July 12th) to Sunday (July 15th) BC will scrum down against rivals Ontario and representative sides the Atlantic, Prairie Wolf Pack and Eastern Ontario-Quebec Voyageurs.
U19 Men’s Canadian Rugby Championship – July 11-15:
All games at Nor’Westers Athletic Association Fields in Edmonton,
Alberta July 12 – 1:30pm: British Columbia vs Voyageurs
(Eastern Ontario & Quebec) July 13 – 3:00pm:
British Columbia vs Atlantic July 14 – 3:00pm:
British Columbia vs Ontario July 15 – 3:00pm:
British Columbia vs Prairie Wolf Pack
The BC squad will be captained by two UBC Thunderbirds and graduates from last year’s national championship winning U18 men’s provincial team, Alex Mascott and vice-captain Liam Murphy-Burke.
Fellow graduates from the 2011 U18 team include Ryan March (Abbotsford RFC), Paul Ahn (UBC Thunderbirds), Stephen Grdic (Castaway Wanderers), Dan Lee (Bayside AA), Jordan Reid-Harvey (Capilano RFC), Mike Dalsin (Castaway Wanderers), Brian Murphy (Burnaby Lake), Pat Kay (UVic Vikes) and Christian Styles (Abbotsford RFC).
“Both Alex and Liam are strong players out of the UBC program and they both have the presence and character to fill these positions,” said BC U19 head coach Kris de Scossa. “Some of the lads are new to representative rugby in our BC structure, but with a blend of last year’s U18 gold medal winning team we have an exciting mixture headed to the competition and I look forward to seeing how this squad performs together as a team.”
Fresh off their campaign with the Canadian national U20 team at the Junior World Rugby Trophy in Salt Lake City, Pat Kay and Mike Dalsin will add further experience to this year’s lineup. “Players to also watch include Canada U19s Jordan Harvey and Connor Hunter, as well as up-and-comers Mike O’Toole and Jean Koorsten,” added de Scossa.
“This will be a very strong competition and we are going up against teams that are in season at the moment. For some of our players it’s been a few months since they have played competitive 15-a-side rugby so it will be definitely be a challenge.” “Our preparations have been well attended and there are a number of coaches including Maria Gallo of Burnaby Lake and Curry Hitchborn of Capilano who have been vital to this team’s development,” de Scossa added.
“BC Provincial Coach and Development Manager Dave Brown has helped immensely and I think our players will certainly be ready for the challenge ahead.”
Thanks to Andrew Smith with BC Rugby Union for the press release!!
