| Langford 7's - Saturday May 19th - Free Admission |
| |
| Published Tuesday, May 15, 2012 |
Langford 7s Form Guide: Action Starts at 9am on Saturday - Free Admission
The Langford Rugby 7s tournament takes place this Saturday, May 19th, from 9am to 7pm at Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford. This is the inaugural tournament and hopefully will be a feature of the May long weekend for years to come. Rugby 7s is one of the latest Olympic sports and will make its debut in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. From a Canadian perspective identifying talent for the national teams is paramount and tournaments like the Langford 7s will help in that cause. National men’s 7s coach, Geraint John, will be in attendance to scout for new talent. The women’s 7s team are in Amsterdam participating at the Amsterdam 7s. Notable guest coaches include national team 7s captain Phil Mack and Winston Stanley, the only Canadian to win the European professional club championship, the Heineken Cup.
Admission to the tournament is free and games start at 9am. Here is the form guide for the men’s teams participating.
FORM GUIDE
ABBOTSFORD
Abbotsford are a team that earned promotion to the BC Premier league last year. They typically have a youthful team, supplied by graduates of the Fraser Valley school system. Expect a fast paced, hard-working effort from this group.
Bayside Fijians (tentative)
If there's a 7s tournament on the go the dynamic Fijians will always be a factor. A tentative, last minute entry - the mysterious Pacific Islanders will likely be a competitive force.
LANGFORD BARBARIANS
Coached by Winston Stanley, the only Canadian to claim a Heineken Cup championship, this team features graduates of the Glenlyon Norfolk program also coached by Winston. A few kiwis added to the mix for experience and leadership will round out the team.
NORTH ISLAND LAGERS
Managed by former national 7s player Robin MacDowell this team will feature graduating talent from the north island schools such as G.P. Vanier who won the BC high school championship in 2010. Senior players from North Island clubs such as Cowichan, Nanaimo and Port Alberni will round out the selections.
SOUTH SEAS
South Sea Connection has been active since 2010 and is made up of players from the South Pacific such as: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia along with some local Canadian players. The SSC is very much part of the Pacific Islander community here in Victoria and many of our players compete for local clubs such as Castaway Wanderers, Velox and UVIC.
UNTOUCHABLES
The Untouchables have a South African flavour to their team which means they’ll be hard core rugby. The core of the team are a group of South African touch rugby specialists with additions from the Velox rugby club of Saanich.
WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Western Washington Vikings are looking to become a force in the US collegiate ranks. They recently hired former UBC coach Paul Horne as program director and Adam Roberts as 7s coach. In December, the Vikings won the right to represent the PAC 12 at the Nationals hosted by Texas A&M. The team finished 13th in the US. Some players of interest include: Gavri Grossman, who played rugby at South Delta Secondary, Matt Jensen, an all-state wrestler who found rugby at Western, Matt Tiscornia, all-state basketball guard who also found rugby at Western.
WEST COAST WARRIORS
The West Coast Warriors are coached by iconic 7s player Phil Mack. The team will feature some up and coming talent that Canadian 7s fans may become familiar with in the future. One example is Mike Mizerski the local football star who was ranked in the 2010 CFL draft.
