Burnaby Lake Girls Beat Japanese National Women's Team

It was an evening of jubilation on the Shores of Burnaby Lake last night as the current BC Women's Rugby Champs took on the Japanese National Women's Team and won in the last minute by ONE POINT!!!
What an end to a beautiful hard fought game.

Team captain and current National Women #10 Anna Schnell scored the first points with a penalty but was quickly countered with two quick tries and a convert by the Japanese Ladies to go up 12 - 3.




The smaller Japan girls(at least they looked small) were very quick to the breakdowns and strong in the scrums, winning at least 5 tightheads and numerous steals in rucks and mauls. Fans of Burnaby Lake on the sidelines were quickly losing their fingernails as they struggled to come to grips with the number of lead changes and the way their ladies were being womanhandled by the ladies from the Land of the Rising Sun. It does not usually happen to these girls.


Second half started well for the locals after a quick chat by the coaching staff, and guest player Emily Young from our neighbors in Kamploops suddenly found the ball in her hands and sprinted around her opponent for an uncoverted try. I couldn't keep up with who scored when as there were about three lead changes during the game - only that Burnaby was down by six with about a minute left....Yikes!!
Emily came through again as she again found herself with the ball and again ran around her opponent to score. Everyone on both sides waited anxiously for the convert and when Ms Schnell slotted it through between the uprights and the final whistle was blown, the local ladies and their fans jumped with joy and the visitors hung their heads in disappointment. But this was anybody's game right to the final second!! Japan, ranked 13th in the World vowed to do better on Saturday against BC, Burnaby Lake, ranked nowhere in the world, jumped to 12th.........I think.


Most of these ladies will probably never play against a National side again so this win makes it very memorable for them.

KAUKAUWA!!

Burnaby Lake Women Tests Strength & Talent Against Japanese National Team

The BC Womens Premier Provincial Champion, Burnaby Lake Rugby Club, will play the Japan National Women's Rugby Team Wednesday afternoon at the Burnaby Lake Fields. Preparation has been going well and Monday night they were helped at practice with a srimmage against their own Third Division Men's Team. It was a full on Rugby game, Men against Women and the Women's Captain, Anna Schnell, was heard later commenting to her troops that it was the best practice they've had so far. It was interesting to watch as Assitant Coaches, Emma Hadfield and Ian Trevor ran them through different phases. Scrums in particular, were fun to watch as Tighthead prop Alice held her own against Jeremy Jarvis, a veteran on the Burnaby Lake Men's squad.
Lineout jumps produced mixed results, which would mean a closer attention needs to be paid to in this area.
The girls are pumped!! The squad includes some former and current National and Provincial reps, and for some of these girls, this is an opportunity not to be missed, as it is probably the only time they will ever get to play against a National Team. It will be an exciting afternoon indeed for all involved and those of us on the Management side are just as pumped as those who will be on the field playing in the Blue & White Color of BURNABY LAKE RUGBY
KAUKAUWA!!!!!

BURNABY LAKE WOMEN OPENS SEASON WITH WIN AMID CHANGES

The new season has brought about a multitude of change at Burnaby Lake. With Mike James in charge of the BC Bears, the coaching staff at Burnaby Lake has shifted to more of an overall club focus.

Change is never easy, and on Saturday the Burnaby Lake Premier Women’s team took a big step towards getting the changes behind them. To paraphrase the head coach of the Burnaby Lake Premier Women's team, Walt Brandl, what we did or didn't do in the build up doesn't matter, what matters is what we do now.

Burnaby-Bayside games are always competitive affairs, regardless of the result, as there is a wealth of respect on both sides of the pitch and sidelines. While the result on the day (40 - 3 for Burnaby) may seem lopsided, Bayside had their opportunities, and as always battled to the final whistle.

The first 20 minutes saw the two teams feeling each other out with the field position and possession shifting back and forth, and Bayside in the lead from a penalty kick. Further effective kicking from the Bayside fly half kept Burnaby hemmed back at times, until the back 3 made some adjustments. Once those adjustments were made, some effective counter attacking through Devon Luca, Daamo Skelton and newcomer Maggie Pitts helped Burnaby get itself out of trouble.

As the game grew, the Burnaby pack, lead ably by Kim Donaldson and Laura Harmse, began to assert itself in the set pieces and at the breakdown creating the platform Lauren Tagg would need to ensure that captain Anna Schnell would receive the ball she needed to engineer the attacking process. Tries for the day were tallied by Anna Schnell with two, Mel Miyazaki also with two, Daamo Skelton and Erin Jang tallying one each. A total of six tries with Captain Schnell converting 5 of them to add to her contribution on the Scoreboard.
Next up for Burnaby is Japan on Wednesday Sept 23rd at the Club. This will be an exciting moment for the women, and for some players, a once in a lifetime opportunity to play against a National team.

Posted with contribution from Coach Ian Trevor

The Abby Sevens is Here

Greetings from the Shores of Burnaby Lake.
One more sleep and we will be converging on the grounds of Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford, for the innaugural International Sevens Tournament. This will be the first time International Teams will lock horns with Domestic Clubs to see who has more snort. Kenya, Canada and the West Indies are the International Sides playing in this tournament and will be up against top domestic Clubs such as hosts Abbotsford, Bayside and Burnaby Lake Lighthouse. There are teams from our neighbors down south here as well as we all try and win the coveted almighty buck on offer.
But more importantly, it is a chance to play against some big names in sevens rugby.
Burnaby Lake has been quietly preparing for this under the tutelage of duo-international Senirusi(Bruce) Rauqe, their Captain. Things were clicking well during their last run on Thursday; Friday afternoon was a chance to meet up for a game of 'touch' rugby with their neighbors, the Pacific Islanders, who will be playing at the Domestic Tournament.
There is really nothing more to say at this point except to wake up in the morning and stroll over to Rotary Stadium for a day full of Sevens Rugby

!!K A U K A U W A!!

The Kenyans Are Coming

Mark this date on your Rugby Calendar..........July 25th!!!
Tell the girlfriend/wife you're helping your Boss move and it will take all day
Tell the boyfriend/husband you need to go comfort an old girlfriend who's feeling down - and won't be back till Sunday morning.
Tell the Boss you're sick, but because you've run out of sick days, you're calling in Dead.
But if all the abovementioned humanoids play or like Rugby....then drag their carcasses over to Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford for a day full of exciting Sevens Rugby!!! Just say "You're coming with me so let's go"


The occasion is the first ever International Sevens Tournament involving both International Teams and Domestic Clubs. Teams from Kenya, West Indies, Canada Select, the Pacific Islanders are just some of the teams with speed to burn and talent to showcase. The Kenyans alone should be worth the price of two tickets.
Of course the main target on the local scene lately has been our beloved BURNABY LAKE LIGHTHOUSE!!....THEY SHOULD BE WORTH FOUR TICKETS!!
They have only won the two tournaments they've entered - Rowers and SFU Sevens.


The President of the Abbotsford International sevens had watched two games at SFU and was so impressed with the boys' play he has called to confirm that we will be playing on the International Tournament instead of the Domestic version.
What this means is we will be running against the long-legged Kenyans who, after watching some of the World series sevens tournaments they've played in, I'm sure run faster than gazelles. No worries, we have coyotes in Burnaby that can catch them!!At least a couple of them have legs longer than the Kenyans.


The Team is preparing well. Captain Bruce Rauqe has been running them hard. Focus this week has been on fitness and next week they will go through ball handling and the different phases of the game. Some of the boys are tied up with work but have promised to do fitness work on their own.
Manager has been encouraging those that grace the shores of the lake on Tuesdays and Thursdays to join in on their practice so he can pick the best Twelve for the tournament. It is a biggie and we need the best coyotes available to catch the gazelles of Kenya and the Canadian Wild Geese and whatever birds, critters animals - either with four or two legs - and bring the spoils to the shores of Burnaby Lake!!
So, if your Partner or Boss likes Rugby bring them along. If they don't, use the excuses mentioned above.



July 25th is to be marked on the Calendar and excuses need to be divised and planned now!!

KAUKAUWA!!!

We will We will ROCK YOU!!!...............

The weekend has come and gone, I hope that nobody has lost a few days of their lives, what with all the weddings and partying in Kamloops!!! At least somebody was having fun. Out here on the coast, we were up at Burnaby Mountain having a picnic - with some Sevens Rugby thrown in for good measure. It was the 27th Annual SFU Sevens Tournament, and what a day it was. Lots of solid Rugby hits, nailbiting moments and just sheer jubilation as the Burnaby Lake Lighthouse Sevens Team was crowned champion for the second time in as many tournaments. YES!!!
The day started with a win over arch-rival Youngbucks, followed by a nailbiting nervous game against the Brit-Lions. I think the boys underestimated the Brit-Lions and for a while there were some very tense and anxious looks on the faces of their strong fanbase watching from the sidelines. In the end, it was another win to the Lighthouse. The boys, for some reason, were playing immediately after the ladies from Seattle who called themselves the MUDHENS. They also decided to set up camp right next to the Lighthouse Tent and as soon as they finished their game, they would come by and said to the boys "we won, now it's your turn". By some luck of the draw, the schedule was like this until the final game. We played right after them - a good omen I think - so it was agreed that if we're lucky enough to be invited to next years SFU sevens again, we will set up camp right next to each other again.
After the game against Scribes, which was marred by very very poor refereeing, we found out that we will be playing against the Brit-Lions again in the semis. They were dispatched a lot quicker this time on our way to the finals- and another meeting with the Youngbucks, who took care of the LOMAS in the other semi.
After some words of encouragement from the MUDHENS, who had just won their finals, the boys took the fileld for the last time.
Midway through the first half, the Youngbucks were leading 15 - 0. Not a very good way to start the final but a look of calmness and quiet determination can be seen on the Captain's face as he jumped unassisted to steal a lineout and trotted upfield like a pony possesed before unloading to Asesela Vunituraga who ran through a couple of Youngbucks Jonah Lomu Style. After receiving the RED Card from the same referee at the Rowers Sevens, Sela was on his best behaviour up at the mountain. He took his aggresive style to the opposition by hitting them hard in tackles. At least one player from all the teams they played was given the HIT. It was crunching and loud, the loudest of which was the hit on one of the youngbucks backline boys. There was a chorous of awwwe from the sideline all the way to the beer garden as if they had been hit themselves. Poor guy was driven back at least five metres. Sela quickly got up and drove the other guy that got the ball out of touch!! It was a thing of beauty!!
Halftime score was 15-12 and after some longstriding runs from captain Bruce Rauqe, who ran like he was being chased all day by a woman in a long hat riding a broom, the final score came in our favour 22-12. Bruce scored 8 tries as he led the boys in Black & White to the final victory. They are now 2-0 in the tournaments they've entered so far. Not bad for a bunch of guys put together through the love of the game and are now having so much fun running around on the shores of Burnaby Lake!!

Next up is Abbotsford.

KAUKAUWA!!!

Burnaby Mountain Beckons

Well, two more sleeps and we will be heading up the hill to Burnaby Mountain for the SFU RFC International Sevens. Can't wait!!!
After a two week layoff, it is time to put the boots back on, say goodbye to the girlfriend for a few hours and go do what rugby boys do on a Saturday - play some rugby. Sevens rugby!!
Practice was tight on Tuesday for the BLRC Lighthouse Team, but it came together on Thursday on the final run before kick-off. They're blooding in a few new faces as some of the suspected criminals from the previous week are attending the wedding of Katie Wells and the short Ausie with torn/worn runners - in Kamloops!! Congratulations you two!!
A total of 23 teams are taking part this year, and it should be fun checking out the opposition during pool play - whether your team is on the Premier, Social or women's division
That's right, we have women on this one showing off their moves and tackles.
Premier Mens should provide some hard competitive games as the Young Bucks would like to dethrone Burnaby Lake after their loss in the Rowers Sevens. Brit Lions have some Fijian boys on their squad so match No.21, at 12.20pm should provide some hard tackles and lots of flair. They'll be pitting their talents and experience against the boys in Barbarian Colors from Burnaby Lake.
Meralomas and the Scribblers should not be taken lightly either, they could be the darkhorses of this one. Meralomas have produced some exciting wins in the past!! As always in sevens, one mistake can take you out of the game completely, as Burnaby Lake displayed so well in the Rowers Final against Lionheart Selects. Being crowned champions in that tournament has put a big BULLS EYE on their foreheads as they are now the team to beat. But they have been preparing well so Bring It ON!!

KAUKAUWA!!