It was a clear and decisive victory for B.C. at the Best of the West rugby series, held earlier this month in Kelowna against its Alberta counterparts.
With five members from the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club, and a Vancouver T-bird player from Burnaby, the B.C. Blue team was well-stocked with skill and grit.
They defeated Alberta White 62-10 in the opener, then conceded the first try in their second game against Alberta Black. Trailing 13-7 at halftime, B.C. buckled down and responded quickly, taking just three minutes to turn the tables on a try and a convert to claim the lead en route to a 31-18 victory.
“It was one of those games where everything clicked,” Blue head coach Dean Murten said of the opener against Alberta White. “We played some high tempo rugby, which stemmed from the quality of ball we were producing at the breakdown.”
The B.C. Blue lineup includes Burnaby Lake products Katie Grudzinski, Gabrielle Hindley, Natasha Lalonde, Emily Van Gulik and Leyhana Van Vugt, and UBC’s Tess Woldring, a Burnaby native who is a third-year prop with the T-Birds.
* Six members of the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club were among those named to the B.C. Bears travelling team roster this week, in preparation for the Best of the West match against the Prairie Wolfpack Saturday in Red Deer.
The squad features just two returnees from last year’s Bears lineup. Among the new faces are Burnaby’s Gino Paollella, who brings B.C. rep team experience, Nikolas Hildebrand, Neil MacLaine, Michael O’Toole, Reid Watkins and Bryce Worden.
Saturday’s game is the first of a two-legged tie, with the B.C. leg taking place July 27 in Kelowna.
"Over the four training sessions, between the two squads, we have seen around 50 different faces," said head coach James Thompson. "Both the training sessions have been high in intensity and certainly did not lack commitment. Now it is about the finer details and I am confident with the 23 selected we can address these quickly and accurately.
"While we do have a number of really experienced campaigners on the team, this in general terms is a very young squad, and one where I have no doubt will be able to express themselves on the pitch. We have a mobile pack with a big backline, so we are hoping we can move the Wolfpack around the pitch with our big ball runners."
