2014 Canadian Rugby Championship and General Canadian Rugby Chat.

[Beerfalo]

Ilnicki getting that contract is great news for him and Canada. It also explains his absence from the BC Bears team despite rumors he was going to join them. Now our top 4 props are all on pro contracts with Buydens and Marshall(hopefully he gets an extension) in the ITM Cup, Ilnicki in the ANRC and Tiedemann with Plymouth in the RFU Championship. If only we could get some more hookers overseas on pro contracts. At least if our Flankers stay home they get to train with Canada 7's.

Also on topic of the ANRC, Evan Olmstead was apparently a late cut for one of the teams there but I forget which one. Greater Sydney Rams I think. Hopefully he continues to look good with the Wolf Pack, goes back to Parramatta next year and gets another crack at the ANRC. I'd also like to see him get a call up to Canada A next month but he has his work cut out for him.

And ya Ellerslie Rugby Park has games recorded there so I figured they could find a way to live stream it. I wish Rugby Canada would mandate that all CRC games were live streamed or at least recorded and posted online quickly. I can't wait for tonight's game. Also I was at Ellerslie last night for a game and both the Blues and Wolf Pack have like 4 locker rooms each. I had a good chuckle at that since the ERU teams make do with just one locker room each despite rosters of 20ish guys. The Blues get access to the men's change rooms tonight while the Wolf Pack get the women's.

Also I'd try and get there early canadafan. The parking lots have a bad habit of filling up quickly and then you have to park on Field 1 which isn't that bad but it's better to be right near Field 5 and washrooms. Also watch out for the holes in one of the parking lots. You'll see what I mean hahaha.

 

[LittleGuy]

Solid half time lead for the Blues, up 18-3.

23-3 now, Blues a try away from the bonus point. Kicking has been a little off tonight though the conversions have been mostly from the corner's. McRorie missed a penalty for the Wolf Pack earlier as well.

Blues are in for the bonus point try 28-3!!!

In BC another blowout is underway as a strong Bears side is picking apart a weak Rock squad 30-6 at the half.

Edit: Think that's the final in the Blues/Pack game but not sure 100%, BC is crushing the Rock 51-6, the Atlantic boys look like a U-17 team playing a Men's side.

Final of BC/Rock game was 63-6. Really hard game to evaluate, Bears were at times brilliant while Rock were at times pathetic, they were clearly, jet lagged, tired, too young, too poor and were taken to the wood shed.

Very intriuging game ahead between the Bears and Blues, Ontario will be under short rest and additional travel and BC looked good tonight, Blues could take a stranglehold on the ***le with a win while the BC boys could put themselves back in contention with a win. Hard to see the Rock doing much against the Wolf Pack. While the Prairie boys will be dissapointed tonight the Rock were abysmal, and it should be a third win for the Pack.

So standings have gone to.....

Ontario Blues....... 2 W, 0 L, 1 BP, 9 PTS. + 34 diff
Prairie Wolf Pack....... 2 W, 1 L, 1 BP, 9 PTS. + 23 diff
BC Bears...... 1 W, 2L, 1 BP, 5 PTS. + 11 diff
Atlantic Rock..... 2 L, 0 PTS. - 66 diff

 

[canadafan]

Blues won 28 - 3, Wolf Pack had 2 undeserved yellow cards during the match. That being said, Blues still probably would have won, but it would have been much closer.

 

[Beerfalo]

Canadian super kid Jeff Hassler had a nice try today for Ospreys. Carried a couple guys in with him. He played the full 80 against Treviso and I thought looked pretty good. Ardron didn't get in until the 66th minute though and didn't really have time to impress but he wasn't bad in limited action.

As for our other Pro 12 boys, well Glasgow has Braid and DTH both listed as injured for tomorrow's game which really bums me out cause I was at least hoping to see DTH play against Leinster.

And ya the Wolf Pack game was kinda disappointing. The yellow cards were weak but you gotta deal with them. Being down a man for 1/4 of a game against a team like Ontario definitely isn't the way to win. I knew the Blues could win this one, and I'm not shocked they did, but I was hoping for a closer game. Ontario really looked like a solid unit that worked together. Their lineouts were beautiful and they abused the Pack out wide most of the game. I'd say the Blues player that impressed me the most was their really fast black guy who's name and number I forget right now or I'd look it up myself....

Hopefully this causes the boys in Black to wake up and they rebound on Sunday against The Rock. The Rock do not want to start the season 0-3 and will be coming out looking for a win but as long as the Pack doesn't take The Rock lightly I think they should win. And sadly Ontario is now firmly in control of their own destiny and the Wolf Pack will need to win out and hope for some help from the Bears and Rock to end the Blues dynasty.

Also does anyone know if Pack/Rock and Bears/Blues are going to be streamed? I expect the Bears to give the Blues a hell of a game and want to watch it but then I also thought the same about my boys haha. I also want to watch the Wolf Pack against The Rock and to cheer them on "live" from Edmonton.

 

[LittleGuy]

Bears and Blues will be streamed on the BC Union's home page. Not sure about Rock vs. Pack.

Canada's best rugby writer Pat Johnston is also on the case of the missing TV licences for the European competitions, he's had no luck finding the Top 14 and Pro 12 rights either(so far), and it looks like Sportsnet World may have simply dropped them after breaking the bank on Hockey and Soccer rights, apparently they have virtually zero money for other sports licensing. http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/09/05/rugby-on-canadian-tv-wheres-the-aviva-premiership/

I'd love to see TSN pick up those rights but I'd be shocked, the five feeds has been a huge letdown so far(often four of the five showing the same thing) and I doubt they'd all of a sudden pick up more rugby out of nowhere. If they started expanding their coverage I would almost certainly think it would be for International events first and see how the ratings go from there.

 

[canadafan]

Jordan Wilson-Ross is the guy you are thinking of, he was great. I heard that the game on Sunday will be live streamed.

 

[Beerfalo]

Jordan Wilson-Ross is the guy you are thinking of, he was great. I heard that the game on Sunday will be live streamed.

That's the guy. I'm betting he winds up on Canada A. I'm surprised how quiet Lucas Hammond seemed out there. I never really noticed him though that's not a bad thing. Is he just a better 7's player instead of 15's? Over all though the Ontario backs really impressed me as a unit, a lot more than their pack did.

I was also again impressed by Jeremy Kyne. I personally thought he was the best forward this game as well as the 2nd best in the 1st Pack/Bears game(Kleeberger was a beast that game). I can't speak for the 2nd Pack/Bears game. I know I've been vocal about wanting Canada A to be mostly younger guys but I think Kyne would be a smart choice from the times I've seen him play this year.

 

[LittleGuy]

That's the guy. I'm betting he winds up on Canada A. I'm surprised how quiet Lucas Hammond seemed out there. I never really noticed him though that's not a bad thing. Is he just a better 7's player instead of 15's? Over all though the Ontario backs really impressed me as a unit, a lot more than their pack did.

I was also again impressed by Jeremy Kyne. I personally thought he was the best forward this game as well as the 2nd best in the 1st Pack/Bears game(Kleeberger was a beast that game). I can't speak for the 2nd Pack/Bears game. I know I've been vocal about wanting Canada A to be mostly younger guys but I think Kyne would be a smart choice from the times I've seen him play this year.

He was on the side last year and did OK, considering how poor our ARC side did last year players keeping their stock where it was previously was an accomplishment. In 2012 he was also on the side and played darn well especially against the States I think he's just got stuck in the numbers game at the wing.

I have a feeling we'll field a stronger ARC side this year, our FH situation last year was especially comical I think our guy in the U.S.A. game was 11th or 12th choice down the depth chart. (Seriously!!!!)

I was surprised when Kyne retired so quickly after the RWC, he could have kept himself very much in the picture of things, though we do produce loose forwards at a healthy clip. He might be able to get onto the ARC squad and spots are also probably available for the RFU Championship( and to a lesser extent Namibia) game in November I don't think our top tier pro's will be turning out for the RFU Champ XV.

 

[Beerfalo]

I've gone through the list of pros you made LG and separated them by positions as best I could. I'm not quite sure why I did it but I guess I just wanted to see where our pro depth is.

Shane O'Leary(Crazy Irish kid who should be our future Fly-Half but wants to play for his home country instead)
Connor Braid(Utility Back)
Phil Mackenzie(Wing/Center)
Jeff Hassler(Wing)
DTH Van de Merwe(Wing/Center)
Taylor Paris(Wing)
Mark Kohler(Wing)
James Pritchard(Fullback God)
Matt Evans(Fullback/Centre)

Prop: Andrew Tiedemann(L), Hubert Buydens(L), Jason Marshall(T), Jake Ilnicki(T)
Hooker: Aaron Carpenter, Benoit Piffero
Lock:Tyler Hotson, Jon Phelan, Brett Buekeboom, Evan Olmstead, Jamie Cudmore
Back Row: Jebb Sinclair, Tyler Ardron

The lack of Back Row would be worrisome if they weren't getting time and training through the Canada 7's and CRC campaigns. In Canada we have guys like Kleeberger, Dala, Moonlight, Gilmour and Cejvanovic to name a handful of guys off the top of my head so it's not that bad but I'd prefer our current and near future Canada players to be playing pro 15's. Hopefully the mostly domestic squad(I'm betting) impresses against the RFU Champ XV and we can see a few more Canadians head to Europe and Oceania. I also wouldn't be surprised if Canada fields a team against Namibia of similar make and build as the one that thrashed Portugal last year. We don't NEED our best pros for that one but it would be nice to get them an extra week together in preparation for Samoa and Romania.

And we better field a stronger ARC team. I am still unimpressed with how last years competition went down. Canada has enough talent here that we should be able to finish above USA Selects and Uruguay as well as challenge the Jaguars on our home soil. There is no reason not to give the home fans the strongest possible team to cheer for.

 

[LittleGuy]

I've gone through the list of pros you made LG and separated them by positions as best I could. I'm not quite sure why I did it but I guess I just wanted to see where our pro depth is.

Shane O'Leary(Crazy Irish kid who should be our future Fly-Half but wants to play for his home country instead)
Connor Braid(Utility Back)
Phil Mackenzie(Wing/Center)
Jeff Hassler(Wing)
DTH Van de Merwe(Wing/Center)
Taylor Paris(Wing)
Mark Kohler(Wing)
James Pritchard(Fullback God)
Matt Evans(Fullback/Centre)

Prop: Andrew Tiedemann(L), Hubert Buydens(L), Jason Marshall(T), Jake Ilnicki(T)
Hooker: Aaron Carpenter, Benoit Piffero
Lock:Tyler Hotson, Jon Phelan, Brett Buekeboom, Evan Olmstead, Jamie Cudmore
Back Row: Jebb Sinclair, Tyler Ardron

The lack of Back Row would be worrisome if they weren't getting time and training through the Canada 7's and CRC campaigns. In Canada we have guys like Kleeberger, Dala, Moonlight, Gilmour and Cejvanovic to name a handful of guys off the top of my head so it's not that bad but I'd prefer our current and near future Canada players to be playing pro 15's. Hopefully the mostly domestic squad(I'm betting) impresses against the RFU Champ XV and we can see a few more Canadians head to Europe and Oceania. I also wouldn't be surprised if Canada fields a team against Namibia of similar make and build as the one that thrashed Portugal last year. We don't NEED our best pros for that one but it would be nice to get them an extra week together in preparation for Samoa and Romania.

And we better field a stronger ARC team. I am still unimpressed with how last years competition went down. Canada has enough talent here that we should be able to finish above USA Selects and Uruguay as well as challenge the Jaguars on our home soil. There is no reason not to give the home fans the strongest possible team to cheer for.

Last years ARC was summed up when our 12th choice FH went to take a penalty attempt and the staff on the sideline couldn't find the kicking tee LMFAO!!! Forcing someone to "hold" the ball gridiron style.

Really interesting seeing the depth at various positions if you want to get into the Canadian test side, if you can play Hooker or Fly Half your chances are dramatically increased.

The lack of back row's playing pro surpises me since I think 6-8 is actually Canada's strong suit at the moment, though anyone carded and playng with the 7's side is effectively at a semi-pro or 2nd tier pro league salary. Nice to see an uptick in Lock's heading into the 2011 RWC it was probably Canada's second weakest position, aside from Cudmore and Hotson it was back rowers out of position or guys like Brian Erichsen who were OK but really only stop gaps.

Think our 2015 side will be stronger in a lot of places, especially in the Centres and Lock. Wing and Fullback were and are still strong, Scrumhalf we have better back up options this time around. Back Rows there is the usual glut of good players and sadly one or two solid guys will probably be left in Canada in the non travelling reserves. Front row is just about holding our own this cycle, win our own feeds and not crumble to pieces, the scrum certainly isn't a strength but it's nowhere near how bad it was in 2008ish.

Weak point of the side is FH, I don't think any of the prospects will be quite ready in a year's time and the older options seem to be mediocre to downright poor. I'd hate for a fairly talented side to be let down at one of the most crucial spots.

 

[canadafan]

I think Casey Reed could be our hooker of the future. James Smith also scrummed very well against Ontario in the last match too. Also apparently we have a young hooker playing for North Otago B in the Heartland Comp.

 

[LittleGuy]

Blues lineup named, only one change from the Wolf Pack game, thought there might be a couple more considering the short rest and travel, perhaps the bench will be rolled on a few minutes earlier than normal instead. Can see why coaching staff dosen't want to change a winning formula.

Starters

1. Doug Wooldridge (Lindsay RFC)
2. Ray Barkwill (Niagara Wasps)
3. Tom Dolezel (London St. George's)
4. Haddon Murray (Balmy Beach)
5. Hank McQueen (Balmy Beach)
6. Lucas Rumball (Balmy Beach)
7. Alistair Clark (Bay Street RFC)
8. Seb Pearson (London St. George's)
9. Andrew Ferguson (Oakville Crusaders)
10. Shawn Windsor (Stoney Creek)
11. Jake Webster (Lindsay RFC)
12. Derek Daypuck (London St. George's), Captain
13. Jordan Wilson-Ross (Barrie RFC)
14. Dan Moor (Balmy Beach)
15. Lucas Hammond (Toronto Nomads)

Bench

16. Jacob Rumball (Balmy Beach)
17. Sawyer Herron (Oakville Crusaders)
18. Rob Brouwer (Lindsay RFC)
19. Scott Dunham (Balmy Beach)
20. Tim Richardson (Toronto Scottish)
21. Rich Lebel (Waterloo County)
22. Jamie Mackenzie (Oakville Crusaders)
23. Andrew Coe (Markham Irish)

 

[Beerfalo]

Here's the lineups for the Wolf Pack vs Rock game tomorrow. The Pack has Matt Harrison getting the start over Casey Reed and Ian Huston getting in over Spencer Messiah. They are also moving Gordie McRorie from scrummie to Fly-Half and bumping Jake Robinson to scrum-half. McRorie at FH sounds like a weird move but I look forward to seeing what he can do. I was REALLY unimpressed with the play of Steven Arnold Thursday night so I welcome the change. Looking at The Rock, I'm not too impressed with the lineup but they could still steal a win if the Pack take them lightly.

Wolf Pack line up:

1. Peter Houlihan
2. Matt Harrison
3. James Smith
4. Evan Olmstead
5. Ian Huston
6. Clay Panga
7. Kyle Gilmore ©
8. Jeremy Kyne
9. Jake Robinson
10. Gordon McRorie
11. Graham Turner
12. Dustin Macpherson
13. Nick Blevins
14. Adam Bontus
15. Shea O'Hallahan

16. Ryan Ackerman
17. Ryan Kotlewski
18. Casey Reed
19. Spencer Massiah
20. Steve Arnold
21. Adam McQueen
22. Brandon Harrison
23. John Moloney

Atlantic Rock

1) Frank Walsh
2) Jordon Power
3) Steve Cutcliffe
4) Chris Browne
5) Grant Crowell
6) Toni Wodzicki
7) Mike Hamson
8) Owen Parfrey
9) Tony Pomeroy
10) Patrick Parfrey
11) Robert Wilson
12) Colin Alexander
13) Emil Sehic
14) Patrick McNicholas
15) Alex Rogers

16) Alex Forrest
17) Bob Rogers
18) Tapiwa Rabwi
19) Zach Fitch
20) Matt Murphy
21) Mark Sweeney
22) Charles Debove
23) Tim Hart

I can't find the roster for the Bears but I doubt they'd change it after the dominating butt whooping they gave The Rock on Thursday night.

 

[LittleGuy]

Yeah that's a weak Rock lineup, very few recognizable names, an aging Walsh and Pat Parfrey are the only players who've consistently been in the National team picture at some point in their careers. The Rock team of 3-4 years ago was a lot stronger and the transition has been pretty painful, maybe for the home games later int he season they'll have a few more players available.

I would expect a Wolf Pack bonus point win, as long as you stated Beerfalo they don't treat the game as a lark. Bears and Blues will be a close game I think, intangibles are in the Bears favour though.

 

[Beerfalo]

They were playing IN Vancouver so you'd think they'd have got some BC based players like Hearn and O'Toole to join their ranks. I don't know if they'd have made much of a difference but it would have added some solid veteran leadership. Maybe you're right LG and they'll get some reinforcements for their 3 game home stand but I wouldn't bet on it.

This was their lineup from Thursdays game(I found it on their website and was SHOCKED to see they posted anything haha) and they even included the teams the players come from. Looking at the roster makes me really think the Voyageurs need to jump up to a full mens team. The Rock looks to be completely Newfoundland dominated which isn't surprising but isn't good for Quebec growth.
1. Frank Walsh (NL Vandals)
2. Jordon Power (NL Dogs)
3. Bob Rogers (NL Dogs)
4.Toni Wodzicki (ON Balmy Beach)
5. Brad Lester (NL Dogs)
6. Owen Parfrey (C) (NL Swilers)
7. Mike Hamson (NS Tars)
8. Zac Coughlan (NL Swilers)
9. Toni Pomroy (NL Baymen)
10. Patrick Parfrey (NL Swilers)
11. Charles DeBove (PQ Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue)
12. Alex Rogers (NL Dogs)
13. Colin Alexander (NS Tars)
14. Patrick McNicholas (NL Swilers) - 6 pts
15. Robert Wilson (NL Swilers)

16. Alex Forrest (PEI Mudmen)
17.Steve Cutcliffe (NL Dogs)
18. Grant Crowell (NS Tars) Stephen
19. Zach Fitch (NB Loyalists)
20. Matt Murphy (NL Dogs)

 

[canadafan]

I am hearing that they do have a live stream set up for this match, god knows if it will work though.

 

[LittleGuy]

No stream for Rock vs. Pack. Stream for Bears/Blues available in the BCRugby Union official site.

 

[Beerfalo]

Sucks they couldn't get a stream going but twitter says the Pack are already up 12-0 and the game wasn't even 10 minutes old. McRorie getting both tries, maybe Canada should give him a go at Fly-Half eh haha. I'm actually being serious about that.

Bears stream starts 1pm Pacific time so pretty much 40 minutes from now. Here's the Bears roster. Does anyone know what's up with Kleeberger? He was on the roster for the first game of the CRC season but then just disappeared. He was their best player by far so are they just trying new people? The addition of Trainor to the Backline is a deadly addition and should help even the odds against the Blues backs.

Bears Roster:
1. Noah Barker (James Bay AA)
2. Micha Govorchin (Burnaby Lake RC)
3. Cody McClary (Port Alberni Black Sheep)
4. Callum Morrison (UBCOB Ravens) (c)
5. Shea Wakefield (UVic Vikes)
6. Luke Campbell (UVic Vikes)
7. Chase Kelliher (UVic Vikes)
8. Admir Cejvanovic (Burnaby Lake RC)
9. Sean White (James Bay AA)
10. Patrick Kay (Uvic Vikes)
14. Justin Douglas (Abbotsford)
12. Mike Fuailefau (Castaway Wanderers)
13. Connor Trainor (UBCOB Ravens)
14. Caleb Hansen (Vancouver Rowing Club)
15. Sean Ferguson (UBC Thunderbirds)

Reserves:
16. Andrew Lackner (Burnaby Lake RC)
17. Garrett Garbe (UBCOB Ravens)
18. Scott MacKay (Burnaby Lake RC)
19. Chris Chalmers (Abbotsford)
20. Thyssen De Goede (James Bay AA)
21. Nathan Yanagiya (Capilano RFC)
22. Bryan Tyrer (UBC Thunderbirds)
23. Jorden Sandover-Best (UBC Thunderbirds)

Score Update: 17-0: Jake Robison(scrummie) with a bounce to Graham Turner for the third try for the Pack in under 20 minutes. I wish I could be watching this game live right now

 

[LittleGuy]

Wolf Pack apparently have the bonus point already, think the score is 22-5. This Rock team is abysmal.

 

[Beerfalo]

HT score should be 22-8 for the Wolf Pack. At one point the WP twitter had the score at 17-3(penalty for Rock) and then 22-0 and then finally 22-5(unconverted try for Rock). I tweeted them about it but haven't got a reply. Either way The Rock sounds bad and the Wolf Pack have the coveted BP already. McRorie(2), Turner and Bontus have the tries for the Wolf Pack so far according to the twitter feed. They also said #15 for The Rock got the try for them and his name is Alex Rogers according to the roster sheet.

2ND Half Update: Kyne with a try at the 45th minute and McRorie with the convert. McRorie is really packing in the points today and good on Kyne. 2 tries so far this CRC campaign. Score is listed as 29-5 so I guess The Rock never got that penalty.