Capilano RFC Match Reports - September 24th, 2022

Caps visit Brockton Oval for 3 games:

Three exciting games at beautiful Brockton Oval on Saturday. Two of the games were competitive, the Women’s 3rd Division and the Men’s Premier. The other game was a blowout with Rowing Club coming away with a big win.

I decided to ride my E-Bike to the Oval and it was a good decision as there were accidents on the Lions Gate Bridge coming and returning. Fire Trucks and Ambulances with traffic stalled. It was a nice ride both ways on a beautiful BC Fall day.

The Women’s 3rd Division Game:
This game was won by Rowers by a score of 26-20. When I arrived Caps were scoring their first try but were behind the home side. The quality of 3rd Division Women’s rugby has really improved with both sides showing some excellent play. Caps came back in the second half to make it close and looked like they might win it but time expired. The game was well managed by the referee and it was a good game to watch. Congratulations to Rowing Club on the win and thanks to the referee.

The Premier Reserve Match:
This match was won by Rowing Club by a score of 36-0. Rowers were dominant and Caps need to raise their game. The score could have been even higher but for handling errors by the Rowers. Perhaps when the League starts and the Capilano coaching staff decides who will be playing Premiers and who will be on the bench the reserve side will be stronger.

Presently with a few exceptions the team is very young. They were trying hard but were outplayed by the more experienced Rowing Club side. Congratulations to Rowing Club and thanks to the referee.

The Premier Match ended in a 20-20 draw:

I thought Rowing Club outplayed the Caps for a good portion of the match. Caps had some chances but Rowers held them up on one chance on the wing and did some excellent tackling while on defense. The Capilano coaching staff did some experimental stuff such as switching last weeks number 10 and 15 for half of the game. Both players showed that they can play different positions if necessary. Caps were also missing several starters as Johnny Franklin, Johnny Adams and Nick Pearce were rested due to injuries the previous week and Glen McKinnon was suspended. Jordan Harvey was unavailable this week and these players were missed but it did give other players as chance to step up.

For Rowing Club their number 10 had a strong game and seemed to have put the Caps away with a well taken late try. Caps raised their game in the last quarter and stormed back to score a couple and even the score. Chris Robinson dived over after several forward pick and goes and it was converted by Mike Moloney. Caps had a chance to win it with a long penalty kick near the death but Mike Moloney hit the upright and it bounced out and was cleared by Rowing Club. Rowers always play hard against the Capilano side and today was no exception. A draw perhaps flattered the Caps but they did look good late and worked hard to even the score.

Several players were blooded by Capilano. Both teams were penalized a lot and this slowed down the game especially in the first half. The referee kept things in hand and did bin Capilano Captain Neil Courtney for 10 minutes.

With respect to my comments last week about the high/dangerous tackle law, I spoke to today’s referee, Saro Turner, about his interpretation of the laws. He said the line was drawn at the shoulders. Anything above to the chin or head was at least a yellow card or could be a red card. This is how I thought the law was. Based on his interpretation, last weeks binning of Glen McKinnon would not have been a penalty as his tackles were nipple high. In international rugby the referees have the benefit of the TMO and can review hits. Our situation is different we have the live action decision and the assistant referees. If a player is red carded it could be reviewed by the disciplinary committee from the game films that are now mandatory. The referees have a difficult job and their efforts to make the game safer are appreciated but we should strive towards consistency and the players need to know what the interpretation of the laws are. Our referees need to be on the same page. This issue appears to be widespread throughout the rugby world. Thanks to todays referee Mr. Saro Turner for his efforts. Next week Caps host Burnaby at Klahanie. Get out and support your teams!

By: John Langley