Match Reports - Saturday February 11th

Results - Saturday February 11, 2023
Westshore 43 - 29 Capilano (Premier Women)
Meralomas 64 - 0 Capilano (2nd Div. Men)
Meralomas 38 - 10 Capilano (Prem. Reserve Men)
Meralomas 17 - 17 Capilano (Premier Men)


Schedule - Saturday February 25
12:45pm Capilano at Seattle (Premier Women)
Venue: Starfire Stadium - Seattle
11:15am Rowing Club at Capilano (2nd Division Women)
Venue: Klahanie Park
11:30am Simon Fraser RC at Capilano (2nd Division Men)
Venue: Klahanie Park
12:45pm Rowing Club at Capilano (Premier Reserve Men)
Venue: Klahanie Park
2:30pm Rowing Club at Capilano (Premier Men)
Venue: Klahanie Park

Capilano at Meralomas - February 11, 2023
Written by: John Langley

It was a rough club day at Connaught Park today. The young Capilano 2nd Division side had a rough day against a stocked Meraloma side that had many reserves while Caps started with 17 players and ended up playing short handed. The Lomas have done an excellent job recruiting players from other parts of Canada and Overseas. Congratulations to the Meralomas and thanks to the referee.

The Premier Reserves: Meralomas won 38-10 and were dominant throughout. Caps subbed in some players in the second half and slowed the Lomas down a bit but the team did not perform as they had last week against Raven’s where they lost a close one. Congratulations to the Lomas and thanks to the referee.

The Premier Game: This game was hard fought and ended in a 17-17 draw. Meralomas have only one loss this season while Caps have only one win. This Cap team though has been in every game and has notched bonus points. Last week they played a strong game against Raven’s and were unlucky not to have won. They have had a tough draw and hopefully things will improve going forward. Today’s game was tight throughout and the tackling by both sides was fierce. Caps were without star prop and captain Neil Courtney. Neil is out with a head knock and this is a concern as he has had several this season. Neil was very helpful on the sidelines and helped coach. He particularly helped his replacement, Rich Merinsky who is a converted lock and who did a stellar job in the front row and was picked by his teamates as the forward of the game. The Cap front row had two changes with Pete Ingolsby slotting in at hooker. Pete is returning from knee surgery suffered while he was with Pacific Pride. He played well for the reserves last week and looked good again today. Some work is required on throw ins.

Lomas had a lock, Fintan O’Sullivan, an Irishman, I assume, who looks to be at least 7 feet tall. He made it difficult to throw over. Caps did win most of their short throws but lost a few lineouts they could have used to win. Over all the Caps won the set scrum battle and the forwards had a good outing.

The Lomas scored first on a Penalty kick and Caps had a chance to draw even but Mike Mahoney’s kick was wide. It looked to have swerved back but that was after it went over the left post. Shortly afterwards Mike got another chance and the game was tied. Lomas worked hard and threatened, they attacked the short side then swung the ball wide scoring a well taken try, that was converted. Jeremy Simon put in a nice tactical kick that was close to the sideline but stayed in. Lomas returned fire but it didn’t go far. Caps forwards attacked the Loma short side and looked like they might score. Chris Robinson swung it wide and Johnny Franklin partially broke a tackle and passed the ball for a Capilano score from Cam Waddell. The convert by Mike Mahoney was successful and the score was tied a 10 at the half.

My experience at Connaught is that the downhill slope is usually worth 7-10 points so the Lomas were in better shape going into the second stanza. Caps were now going uphill but they put in a good performance. Meraloma’s began attacking the west side corner that us old timers call the Barry Burnham corner. The slope favours the attacking side and Burnham used it to his advantage and scored many times there. The new look Meraloma’s similarly attacked there and came close to scoring several times. Caps managed to hold them out and Mike Mahoney kicked out of danger. Lomas were awarded a penalty kick and their were quite a few called both ways in this game. Loma’s decided to go for the lineout instead of a shot at goal. This time a penalty was awarded to Capilano and they cleared. Caps kicked for a lineout then mauled. Loma’s were penalized for pulling down the maul and Caps went for a lineout deep in the Loma end. Caps were then penalized and this stopped the drive. Loma’s won their lineout and made ground but knocked the ball on and it was a Caps scrum. Mike Mahoney clear but it was well fielded by the Meraloma fullback. The game was now at 60 minutes. Caps subbed in James Ritzema at number 2. Loma’s got the ball into the Cap ingoal and Caps were tackled in possession. A 5 meter scrum was awarded to the home side. Caps defence stiffened but the Loma’s were awarded a penalty kick directly in front. I was surprised that they didn’t take the points but they opted for the scrum. Lomas ran it but lost possession. It was judged by Mr. Smortchevsky to have gone backwards. The Loma attack was stopped and Caps were awarded a Penalty kick. The shot missed the sidelines and Loma’s were back on the attack.

Caps subbed in Charlie Jones. Charlie has decided to make a comeback and his presence should help the Capilano cause considerably as he is a skilled rugby player. Caps appeared to be moving the ball well but Loma’s managed to get posession and break through. It was 3 on 1 and they scored to what everyone thought was the winning try. It was converted and the conversion was good to make it 17-10 for Meraloma’s. It was now 77 minutes into regular time and it didn’t look promising for the visitors.

The Cap’s however refused to concede and fought on. Lomas kicked the ball into the Capilano end but a return kick, a 50-22 gave Caps the ball at the Meraloma 21 Meter line. Caps swung the ball wide left and Mike Mahoney chipped ahead and the ball was recovered by the Caps. Chris Robinson passed back inside to Johnny Franklin into space. Johnny moved it to Moloney and then back to Robinson for the try. Caps converted and it was once again even at 17 each. There was stoppage time remaining and Loma’s tried to take advantage but they were unable to do so and the game was over. It had been quite an exciting afternoon of rugby. Thanks to the referee and his assistants for adjudicating the game and thanks to Meraloma’s for the hosting. Next Capilano home games are in two weeks at Klahanie when Caps hos the Rowing Club. Get out and support your teams. Caps4Life .

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