FIVE members of the Capilano Rugby Club helped Team B.C. win gold for the second straight year at the Under-19 Canadian Rugby Championships held July 17-21 in Calgary.
Neil Courtney, Reid Tucker, Austin Karius and Nathan Yanagiya all were in the starting lineup and Connor Weyell in reserve as B.C. knocked off the host Prairie Wolf Pack 15-13 in a thrilling final. B.C. trailed 13-10 for much of the second half before Vancouver's James Pitblado scored the game-winning try in the final few minutes of play.
The champs went undefeated in the tournament, knocking off the Ontario Blues 22-20, the Voyageurs from Quebec/Eastern Ontario 43-12 and the Wolf Pack 33-15 in round robin play to set up the final match.
Yanagiya finished tied for first in the tournament with four tries in four games.
Several more North Shore athletes will be joining Team B.C. squads for the National Age- Group Championships running today until Sunday at UBC's Wolfson Fields.
In under-18 women's play Isabel Schlyecher of Carson Graham secondary will suit up for Team B.C. On the men's side Ben Bethune, Jonas Blomberg, Tom Kanwischer and Jack Rainer will play for Team B.C. at the under-18 championships. B.C.'s under-17 TrueBlue provincial team will also be taking on under-18 teams at the festival, moving up a year to challenge older teams from around the country. North Shore players Nick Allen and Charlie MacDonald are included on the team.
At the under-16 level there are two B.C. teams with the North Shore's Jake Tapp, Austin West, Tamar Tucker-Harrison, Keaton Armstrong, Ryan Gray and Sam Engstrom on Team Blue and Andrew Jones, Jackson Claridge, Nick Frost, Elias Ergas, Jake Musgrove, Liam Doll and Liam Mahon on Team Gold.
In under-14 action the North Shore's Mattias Blomberg, Aaron Tattersall, Chris Lloyd, Liam Gray, Henry Davitt and Ryan Agyagos will suit up for Team B.C.
