From the RC Website
Kelowna's Apple Bowl will play host to the Prairie Wolf Pack on Saturday as they take on a British Columbia side eager to make a winning impression on the locals. For the first time since 1970, representative level rugby returns to the Central Okanagan, and both sides know that a win will take them to the top of the Canadian Rugby Championship.
BC and the Wolf Pack opened their respective league campaigns with wins but sound defeats followed. BC leaked seven tries against Ontario Blues while the Wolf Pack were outmuscled and out-thought up front against The Rock. Optimism and despair come thick and fast during the five-game championship race to the top and one solid performance will set the victors up for a genuine tilt at the ***le.
BC head coach Kris de Scossa and the bulk of his squad arrived in Kelowna mid-week to prepare for a match that promises to simmer with neighbouring rivalry. "The players are really looking forward to playing at the Apple Bowl and we are honoured that the local community have pulled together to make this exciting event happen," he said.
The Wolf Pack forwards struggled at the scrum in their first two matches but de Scossa has nothing but praise for their 'very strong' front row. "They have fast, effective backs who cover well and capitalize on their opportunities," he added. BC's woes in their last game came courtesy of poor line-out play. The home side hope to address those issues with the inclusion of Burnaby Lake hooker Edvin Sabic.
Fly-half Bryan Tyrer comes into the side alongside Meraloma teammate, and BC captain, Eric Wilson. The back division contains Sean Duke and Sean Ferguson, who have enjoyed praiseworthy years with the Canada Sevens side. Their pace will be an added threat alongside the brute force of Esava Nakulanisa – an outstanding performer at this early stage of the season.
De Scossa commented, "This team has taken the glory, and they have taken the knocks. It will always be the performance that counts in this championship. Our performance in our opening game was near the mark, and our next match was below the mark. We have addressed those areas in training and look forward to performing at a higher level again."
Wolf Pack head coach Col Jeffs and his staff have a debriefing and a training session on Friday to address the pertinent issues in their game. Set pieces, scrum apart, have been very solid and players such as Kyle Gilmour, Christian Wolff and Nick Blevins have made noteworthy contributions. Wolff sits out this match with injury and a similar fate has seen the front-row shorn of the dependable Andrew Cho. "There are considerable changes to our squad from what we had in the first two games. Some of the younger guys are getting the opportunity to make a position theirs for the rest of the season," said Jeffs.
The Wolf Pack have studied footage of BC's opening league game and have received a scouting report from their last time out. However, Jeffs is nothing dwelling 'too much' on the opposition. He said, "Our focus, when we get together, will be on what we can make right. We need to work on our scrums and field position. We were pushing passes in the last game and spurned a few try chances by taking wrong options so we will look to right that."
There are three newcomers on the Wolf Pack bench and Jeffs will look to use his bench wisely and make sure there are fresh legs on the pitch in the final quarter. Temperatures in Kelowna in August are generally in the early 30s (Celsius) and the forecast for Saturday is sun, and lots of it. Jeffs added, "The incentive is to get back to Alberta with a win and to build on it. That is all the motivation we need."
* BC versus Prairie Wolf Pack takes place at 2.30pm on Saturday, August 13th at the Apple Bowl
British Columbia:
1. Rhodri Hanmer, 2. Edvin Sabic, 3. John MacKenzie, 4. Nathan Mantle, 5. Liam Chisholm, 6. Josh Clarke, 7. Chris Chalmers, 8. Aaron Goddard
9. Eric Wilson (capt.), 10. Bryan Tyrer, 11. Esava Nakulanisa, 12. Connor Braid, 13. Josefa Dolesau, 14. Sean Ferguson, 15. Sean Duke (UVic VIkes)
Reserves – 16. Anthony Luca, 17. Mike Georgas, 18. Scott Mackay, 19. Taylor Stogryn, 20. Colin McKenzie, 21. Johnny Morris, 22. Ben Thomson
Wolf Pack:
1. Chad Packard, 2. Dustin Brewka, 3. Ryan Ackerman, 4. Ian Huston, 5. Spence Massiah, 6. John Anderson, 7. Kyle Gilmour (capt.), 8. Clayton Panga
9 James Buchanan, 10. Mozac Samson, 11. Duncan Maguire, 12. Adam Bontus, 13. Nick Blevins, 14. Ian Shoults, 15. Brennan Marcoux
Reserves – 16. Dustin Luther, 17. Emil Christensen, 18. David Thom, 19. Josh Schlebach, 20. Jake Robinson, 21. Evan Thomas, 22. Carl Pocock