Victoria, BC: The Vancouver Island Rising Tide will look to punch their tickets to the provincial final this weekend, when they host Fraser Valley in the second round of the Dunbar Keg Men's Under-20 competition.

Match Details
2:00pm, Sat. July 16 - Fraser Valley at Vancouver Island (Parklands School, Sidney)

Scouting Vancouver Island
Fresh off their season-opening 46-24 victory over defending U20 provincial champs Vancouver Wave, the Rising Tide will now set their sights on downing Fraser Valley, a team that beat them twice in 2010 by a combined total of 72-18 points.

The Tide are currently one win away from clinching a berth into provincial final and their head coach Ken Goodland says his squad will approach Saturday's matchup with the same tenacity and precision they came out with against Vancouver.

"We won't be making any major changes," said Goodland. "I thought our forwards played exactly the way we wanted. They were fast, committed and played with lots of energy. It's also hard not to be impressed with our backs right now."

The Rising Tide's captain Doug Fraser was a standout in last week's performance, notching a hat trick of tries to lead all scorers with 15 points. Canadian Under-20 national players Scott MacLeod and Dustin Dobravsky each recorded tries against Vancouver, and fly half Carlin Hamstra kicked four conversions and a penalty for 11 points. Rookie winger Christian Rios also stood out, impressing his coaches with his key tackling and decision making.

"I have little idea what to expect from Fraser Valley," added Goodland. "They are typically big and very organized. I definitely expect a very tough game, as we lost both matches last year against them. We will approach this weekend with that in mind and know that they will be very tough throughout the whole park."

Scouting Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley head coach Marc Filiatrault watched from the sidelines last week as Vancouver Island went to work against the Wave. Although impressed with the Rising Tide's effort, he said his side will be prepared for their 2011 opener.

"I'm looking forward to this weekend and I think it will be a really fast game. Our styles will clash on Saturday as our attack tends to see us go straight through the middle, while they like to spread the ball wide," Filiatrault said. "We know they are strong in the backs and they have a solid scrum so we will have to limit our mistakes and maintain ball possession."

Leading the charge for the Valley is fly half Patrick Shields of Abbotsford RFC. The dynamic play caller will have a number of familiar faces in his lineup, including a trio of back rowers who have played Valley rugby over the years. Surrey standouts Mitch Hicks and Josh Warner will combine with Abbotsford RFC's Jared Douglas for what Filiatralult says will be a quick and dangerous trio. The pack's hooker, Darwin Guevera, will also be a key leader on the pitch bringing his experience as a hard ball runner to the mix.

Three players from the Interior will also suit up for the Valley who have shown their grit and dedication attending midweek training sessions despite the travel. Kamloops standouts Max Heppner and Brandon Kicia will dress for the Valley on Saturday, as will Kelowna product Kaleb Myers.

"I've coached most of these players for a number of years throughout their career, so it will be great to have them back playing together," added Filitrault. "We may not be as big as we have been in recent years, but we are a little quicker and I'm looking forward to seeing the players in action."

Dunbar Keg Competition
Three regional representative teams will contest for the historic Dunbar Keg this summer in the revamped British Columbia Rugby Under-20 Championship. The Vancouver Wave, Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island Rising Tide will compete in a round-robin competition, accruing points towards a championship appearance on July 30th. These three teams had previously competed against one another in the Pacific Conference of the now-annulled Rugby Canada Junior National Championship.

2011 BC U20 Dunbar Keg Schedule
Sat. July 9: Vancouver Island Rising Tide 46 - 24 Vancouver Wave
2:00pm - Sat. July 16: Fraser Valley at Vancouver Island Rising Tide (Parklands School, Sidney)
7:00pm - Fri. July 22: Vancouver Wave at Fraser Valley (Crush Crescent, Langley)
Sat. July 30: Dunbar Keg Provincial Final (Klahanie Park, West Vancouver)

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