UPDATE: Klahanie Park rained out today. New times, locations:
Handsworth vs Kits at 3:15 p.m. at Mountainside Secondary
Carson Graham vs. Lord Byng at Seycove Secondary at 4:30 p.m.
Argyle vs. Sentinel at Argyle at 4 p.m.
The North Shore’s top high school AAA boys rugby talent will be on display Thursday with a three-pack of playoff games at Capilano Rugby Club’s picturesque Klahanie Park.
The action-packed schedule will provide rugby fans with a chance to see local teams all in one place on the North Shore’s showpiece field.
“Rugby down at Klahanie is an amazing thing,” said Carson Graham head coach Glen McKinnon, who is also a standout for the Capilano Rugby Club premier men’s team. “You get the stands right there, the fans are so close. It can be pretty nerve-wracking playing there, especially when you’re on that wing right in front of the stands, but hopefully it’s a sunny day and just a great day for rugby.”
McKinnon’s Carson Graham Eagles are No. 4 in the provincial rankings, highest of the North Shore teams, and are coming off a tight 33-22 loss to No. 3-ranked Oak Bay in the British Columbia Secondary Schools Rugby Union Stadium Series last Friday. On Thursday the Eagles will face Vancouver’s Lord Byng Secondary starting at 4:30 p.m. at Klahanie Park.
“They’re always a good, well-coached team,” McKinnon said of Lord Byng. “I’m sure (our) boys will come out firing ready to play. They were a bit disheartened on Friday so I know they’re going to bounce back real hard.”
The Eagles are led by No. 8 Quentin James, a member of Canada’s national U18 team and the son of former pro and national team player Mike James.
“He’s a stud for us, a big part of what we do,” McKinnon said of James, a Grade 12 player who for football season last fall was listed at six-foot-five and 225 pounds. “Any time as a coach you have a player that you actually have to look up to, it kind of helps. He’s got that massive size that you need. He runs things for us through the forwards.”
Other standout Eagles include talented Grade 12 backs Ben Cameron and Kilick Saxer. The Eagles have set their sights on winning the Lower Mainland playoffs to earn the coveted New Zealand Shield trophy as well as the zone’s berth in the four-team AAAA super provincial championships. The AAAA provincials include champion teams from Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley as well as one wild card team. A win over Oak Bay last Friday would have given Carson pole position in the race for the wild card spot, but since they lost they’ll likely have to run the table in the Lower Mainland playoffs to make it to the AAAA championships, no easy task considering foes such as Handsworth and St. Georges stand in their way if they get past Lord Byng.
“We’re looking to push for that AAAA,” said McKinnon, adding that he and assistant coach Ryan Kerluck have been focused on getting the Carson program on par with the elite teams in the province ever since they took over coaching duties from Tom Larisch. “Our goal has always been to get back to a top four team every year. Doug Barker started it in the ’90s, he did such a good job right away. And then Tom Larisch kind of picked it up and kept it going through the early 2000s. We’d like to get back to that point where we’re kind of fighting for that AAAA championship every year. We’ve kind of been rebuilding, but I think we’re close.”
One of the teams standing in the path of the Eagles is the Handsworth Royals, ranked sixth in the province. The Royals will get their playoffs started Thursday at 3:15 p.m. with a matchup against Kitsilano Secondary. Handsworth won 34-5 when the teams played each other in April, but Royals head coach Curry Hitchborn is expecting things to tighten up in the playoffs.
“We played them at home. They’re a good team,” he said. “There’s a resurgence back in that program, they had a couple of dry years and they’re coming back hungrier than ever. Don Staller is an excellent rugby coach, and they’re right next door to Meralomas so really it’s kind of like a Meralomas vs. Capilano kind of affair.”
If Handsworth gets by Kits they’d be on a collision course to face Carson Graham in the Lower Mainland semifinals next Monday at St. Georges. The Royals knocked off the Eagles 24-19 in a tight matchup earlier this season.
“They’re always fun to play, they’re a good group of guys who care about their rugby,” Hitchborn said about his North Vancouver rivals. “They’re all local people and Carson alumni. It’s going to be us or them, and I just wish them the best of luck moving forward.”
The Royals are led by Quinn Bechard, goal kicker and No. 8, as well as captain Dane Hopkins and hulking forwards Sean Foulkes and Davis Bonsall-Jevning.
The opener on Thursday will be a battle of two North Shore teams with Argyle taking on Sentinel starting at 2 p.m. at Klahanie. The winner of that game will have the honour of taking on St. Georges, ranked No. 2 in the province, in the Lower Mainland semifinals Monday. The New Zealand Shield final is scheduled for Thursday, May 18 starting at 5:15 p.m. at Stanley Park’s Brockton Oval.
Whatever happens along the way, Thursday’s tripleheader will at least provide players from around the Lower Mainland an opportunity to play on a premier pitch, said Hitchborn.
“I think it’s great exposure for our local rugby club,” he said. “It’s the home of North Vancouver rugby, and the more kids that we can get down there and see the validity of playing outside of school to improve their school season and their rugby in general is always helpful. Having this many North Shore teams in a position of competition is always great. We’re historically strong over here, we’ve got a pretty good rich and proud tradition of community coaches giving back to the high school they went to.”
• • •
Thursday, May 11 at Klahanie Park:
Sentinel vs. Argyle, 2 p.m.
Kitsilano vs. Handsworth, 3:15 p.m.
Lord Byng vs. Carson Graham, 4:30 p.m.
