The Burnaby Lake Lighthouse 7's Program enters the weekend with a series of games at the Vancouver 7's tournament.
Kicking this weekend of 7's Rugby off are the BLRC Lighthouse U16 boys. They are playing at the Vancouver seven a side tournament. Their game kicks off Friday afternoon at 4pm at the Brockton Oval in Stanley Park.
Coach Sanaila Dawai has been running the Boys hard at Burnaby Lake twice a week and the combination is coming along well. It should be an exciting tournament for everyone as we start to see the preparation for the 2016 Olympics take root with these kids. They will be in their prime and be experienced and '7's smart' by the time the Olympics rolls around.
This should be an afternoon not to be missed as we see our upcoming 7's players strut their stuff.
Saturday morning will see the seniors at the same venue. Defending Champions BLRC Lighthouse men's, led by captain Bruce Rauqe, will once again try to fend off challengers like Valley High, a Team stacked with national 7's Reps. They lost to this team at the Buccaneers 7's two weeks ago and will be looking for some redemption.
The Youngbucks Team tried so hard last year to win at least one tournament against BLRC Lighthouse, but to no avail. They too are in this tournament and will be looking for their own redemption. Other Teams to watch will be the South Sea Wanderers, Bayside Amabassadors, Meralomas, Abbotsford and of course hosts Vancouver Rowing Club. If you're a fan of Rugby's abbreviated code, you should be salivating by now!!!
The Women's draw looked very promising earlier on but it has taken a left turn as two teams have pulled out. BLRC Lighthouse Women is not worried about this at all as they have been preparing well for this one too. Having collected 21 points from the James Bay tournament, Mel Miyazaki and her crew look forward to adding more by the end of the day, to put some distance between them and Velox, who are sitting at 17 points.
BLRC's second Men's Team sees their first tournament this weekend, with a game on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. It should be worth the price of the ticket alone to come and watch Angus Fisher, Brandon Fairs and the ever-exciting Allan Tang light up the field with their blazing speed!!!
Come........it's time to cheer on the BLRC Lighthouse Teams at Brockton this weekend!!!
KAUKAUWA
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
BLRC Lighthouse 7's With Mixed Result on the Weekend
The BLRC Lighthouse Women's 7's wins first Summer Tournament while Men bows out in the Finals
The Ladies were crowned Champions by President of James Bay 7's Tom Woods and presented with $1000 worth of Jerseys, a plaque and will have their Team name engraved on the Huge trophy donated by Morgan Williams the National Men's Caoch of the Rugby Canada 7's program.
The men's Team bowed out in the Finals to a Star-studded Team Valli High, a team filled with National Team members and carded Canadian players on the verge of joining the National Team.
The efforts put in by both the men and the women's teams clearly sends a message to the Clubs and Teams participating in this year's BC sanctioned 7's series that Burnaby Lake Rugby Club is serious about the 7's program at the Lake.
Before the women played their first game of the day, Coach Bruce Rauqe and Assistan Roko Kapaiwai inisisted that they play hard, fair and have lots of fun during the tournament. Obviously, due to the lack of 7's experience and performance at practice the previous two weeks, coaches and Manager Mike Devlin just wanted the ladies to enjoy the experience and to witness and soak in the competitive environment of the 7's circuit.
But after the first game against Cowichan, it was evident that the ladies were not just here to learn the game, they were here to win it.
Led by Captain Melissa Miyazaki, who scored a tonne of tries in the tournament, the ladies sent a very clear message to the oppositions that they were serious about this thing. They piled on points in every game. However, Velox showed them how it is supposed to be done in the last game of Pool Play, and when the final whistle was blown at 4.23pm, they were at the short end of the stick with their first loss. Spirits were quickly lifted when they were informed, they are in the Finals and will be playing against Velox again.
Tough decisions had to be made by Coaches and Manager on the best personnel to put on the field to go against a Team obviously stacked with Women with good 7's experience.
The Finals was won in a tough battle with BLRC Lighthouse crowned champion at the end of it, but the process of getting was a thing of beauty. Nerves of steel were displayed in the last 5 minutes of the game and it was an exhiralating feeling to feel, especially when only in the previous two weeks, the first practice was an excercise in total chaos and confusion!!
We can all exhale now and not worry anymore.......the girls are good to go the rest of the Summer with high expectations.
The boys also had their good share of wins and losses - two of them to the same team, the star-studded Valli High, led by National 7's Rep Phil Mack who led his Team with confidence and by example. Mack's Team beat our Men's Lighthouse team convincingly in Pool Play, but were lucky that time was on their side in the Finals winning the Finals 31-26.
Captain Bruce Rauqe led by example, and was targetted by all the opposing teams during the day. He clearly showed that even at 37 years old, he still got it. In the end, it was not enough as Valli High took the Trophy home. Now it is time to regroup as both the Men and Women's program attempt to take the Oval at Stanley Park June 26th in the 2nd leg of the series - the Vancouver 7's
The Ladies were crowned Champions by President of James Bay 7's Tom Woods and presented with $1000 worth of Jerseys, a plaque and will have their Team name engraved on the Huge trophy donated by Morgan Williams the National Men's Caoch of the Rugby Canada 7's program.
The men's Team bowed out in the Finals to a Star-studded Team Valli High, a team filled with National Team members and carded Canadian players on the verge of joining the National Team.
The efforts put in by both the men and the women's teams clearly sends a message to the Clubs and Teams participating in this year's BC sanctioned 7's series that Burnaby Lake Rugby Club is serious about the 7's program at the Lake.
Before the women played their first game of the day, Coach Bruce Rauqe and Assistan Roko Kapaiwai inisisted that they play hard, fair and have lots of fun during the tournament. Obviously, due to the lack of 7's experience and performance at practice the previous two weeks, coaches and Manager Mike Devlin just wanted the ladies to enjoy the experience and to witness and soak in the competitive environment of the 7's circuit.
But after the first game against Cowichan, it was evident that the ladies were not just here to learn the game, they were here to win it.
Led by Captain Melissa Miyazaki, who scored a tonne of tries in the tournament, the ladies sent a very clear message to the oppositions that they were serious about this thing. They piled on points in every game. However, Velox showed them how it is supposed to be done in the last game of Pool Play, and when the final whistle was blown at 4.23pm, they were at the short end of the stick with their first loss. Spirits were quickly lifted when they were informed, they are in the Finals and will be playing against Velox again.
Tough decisions had to be made by Coaches and Manager on the best personnel to put on the field to go against a Team obviously stacked with Women with good 7's experience.
The Finals was won in a tough battle with BLRC Lighthouse crowned champion at the end of it, but the process of getting was a thing of beauty. Nerves of steel were displayed in the last 5 minutes of the game and it was an exhiralating feeling to feel, especially when only in the previous two weeks, the first practice was an excercise in total chaos and confusion!!
We can all exhale now and not worry anymore.......the girls are good to go the rest of the Summer with high expectations.
The boys also had their good share of wins and losses - two of them to the same team, the star-studded Valli High, led by National 7's Rep Phil Mack who led his Team with confidence and by example. Mack's Team beat our Men's Lighthouse team convincingly in Pool Play, but were lucky that time was on their side in the Finals winning the Finals 31-26.
Captain Bruce Rauqe led by example, and was targetted by all the opposing teams during the day. He clearly showed that even at 37 years old, he still got it. In the end, it was not enough as Valli High took the Trophy home. Now it is time to regroup as both the Men and Women's program attempt to take the Oval at Stanley Park June 26th in the 2nd leg of the series - the Vancouver 7's
Thursday, June 10, 2010
2010 BC Summer 7's Season Starts at James Bay
The 2010 BC Summer 7's season starts June 12th on the Island as James Bay kicks off what promises to be an exciting Summer of 7's Rugby in BC.
With the Sport now included in the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro,it is starting to take on a life of its own as Clubs, Provinces and Country develop programs for kids to learn the finer details of 7's Rugby. BC Rugby is no different as some Clubs participating in the Summer Series are featuring Youth 7's.
At the shores of Burnaby Lake, preparation has been going well as we try to get our share of wins. We are also getting really serious about our Women's 7's program and will be entering all the tournaments this year. Training has been fun not only to run, but more importantly, to watch. It had started with total confusion, as very few girls had played organised 7's before, but is slowly getting there. Girls are starting to recognise the difference between 15's rugby and 7's rugby and the mentality is starting to switch. We're introducing a few plays we think should help in getting some momentum as we enter the first tournament at James Bay. We hope to do well and learn from this experience.
They are definitely in the right place as they are learning from some of the best players in the abbreviated code. They practice with the BLRC Lighthouse Elite Men's Team, led by Head Coach Lesi Korobasaga and assisted by Dual 7's International Bruce Rauqe. Helping as well is Joe Nakaira Dolesau, who has decided to take a stab at wearing the Canadian National Colors instead of the Fiji jersey. Joe had been in the Fiji 7's training squad this year, but has decided to come up to Canada and share his talent and knowledge with us at the Lake. He is also hoping to do the same with Canada 7's should they need his service. He is here for good.
To keep our minds refreshed, the Teams went Bowling Monday night, just to get everyone to get to know each other better and to share some laughs as we get ready for the first tourney.
Bruce Rauqe and Melissa Miyazaki have been named Captains of the two teams playing this weekend and the 2nd Men's Team will be playing in the next tournament, which will be at Brockton Oval June 26th........more to come on that later. First we take the Island, then we take the Oval!!!
KAUKAUWA
With the Sport now included in the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro,it is starting to take on a life of its own as Clubs, Provinces and Country develop programs for kids to learn the finer details of 7's Rugby. BC Rugby is no different as some Clubs participating in the Summer Series are featuring Youth 7's.
At the shores of Burnaby Lake, preparation has been going well as we try to get our share of wins. We are also getting really serious about our Women's 7's program and will be entering all the tournaments this year. Training has been fun not only to run, but more importantly, to watch. It had started with total confusion, as very few girls had played organised 7's before, but is slowly getting there. Girls are starting to recognise the difference between 15's rugby and 7's rugby and the mentality is starting to switch. We're introducing a few plays we think should help in getting some momentum as we enter the first tournament at James Bay. We hope to do well and learn from this experience.
They are definitely in the right place as they are learning from some of the best players in the abbreviated code. They practice with the BLRC Lighthouse Elite Men's Team, led by Head Coach Lesi Korobasaga and assisted by Dual 7's International Bruce Rauqe. Helping as well is Joe Nakaira Dolesau, who has decided to take a stab at wearing the Canadian National Colors instead of the Fiji jersey. Joe had been in the Fiji 7's training squad this year, but has decided to come up to Canada and share his talent and knowledge with us at the Lake. He is also hoping to do the same with Canada 7's should they need his service. He is here for good.
To keep our minds refreshed, the Teams went Bowling Monday night, just to get everyone to get to know each other better and to share some laughs as we get ready for the first tourney.
Bruce Rauqe and Melissa Miyazaki have been named Captains of the two teams playing this weekend and the 2nd Men's Team will be playing in the next tournament, which will be at Brockton Oval June 26th........more to come on that later. First we take the Island, then we take the Oval!!!
KAUKAUWA
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