British Columbia’s provincial rugby teams ran over the competition with several North Shore players leading the charge at the National Festival age-grade Canadian championships held last week in Calgary .
Players from North and West Vancouver were all over the field at the U16 boys tournament as eight locals suited up to help British Columbia win gold. Riley Burns, Elias Ergas, Flynn Heyes, Sam Hughes, Tyler Nylander, Nick Pearce, Christoper Stangl and David Wensley all took part as the U16s went undefeated in the tournament, securing the title with a 26-0 win over the host Albertans in the championship game Sunday. Nylander scored a second-half try in the final to help push B.C. to the top.
The provincial U17 boys team also had a powerful North Shore presence as seven local players helped the team win gold while playing against older competition in the U18 Tier 2 championships. Jackson Claridge, Liam Doll, Nick Frost, Tyrone Karius, Joe Sourisseau, Chase Taylor-Robins and Tamar Tucker-Harrison were all on the Team B.C. roster for the tournament with Claridge serving as team captain. The U17s faced Quebec’s U18 team in the final and fell behind 7-0 just 10 seconds into the game, but took control the rest of the way en route to a 35-10 win. Tucker-Harrison and Doll both recorded tries in the final.
Liam Mahon was the sole North Shore representative on the men’s U18 provincial team as they fought their way to gold in the U18 Tier 1 championships. The tier included only two teams, B.C. and Ontario, and the West Coast squad won all three meetings during the tournament, outscoring their opponent 160-59. Ontario pushed back in the final match but the B.C. squad held on to win 38-24. B.C. also took home first place in the women’s U18 championships with no North Shore players on the roster.
One other North Shore link hit the podium at the festival as Zoe DeFaveri helped the provincial girls U16 team take silver. The U16s lost to Ontario 31-7 in the championship final. North Shore players Jake Lan, Ryan Hanley, Nathan Bice and Spencer Cooper also took part in the tournament, suiting up for the U16 boys B.C. No. 2 team that finished fourth.
Curry Hitchborn, a longtime Capilano Rugby Club member and head coach of this year’s U17 boys provincial team, said this was one of the province’s best ever showings at the National Festival.
“To win gold at four of five finals and have the North Shore help aid in that is a monumental success for rugby in general,” he told the North Shore News. “It speaks very well to the level of commitment to rugby as well as the competition of that level. . . . The best will always shine out.”
Hitchborn pointed to a few factors that have helped the North Shore produce so many talented young players.
“The bonus is that they have all been playing with and then against one another for years either at the club or at their high schools,” he said. “The dedicated teacher volunteers and community coaches that put their time into these athletes helped mold them. . . . Our local club has gone above and beyond what is expected of anybody to accommodate all these athletes and provide constant opportunity to excel.”
