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Match reports – April 21, 2018

April 24, 2018
Posted by crob

by John Langley

Capilano Report April 14, 2018

Caps top two Men’s teams fail to qualify for the playoffs. The Capilano Senior Women lose to Westshore but qualify for the playoffs as do the Capilano 3B’s who were victorious in Squamish. The Capilano U-23 team had a bye as did the Second Division Women; both of those sides also qualify for the playoffs with The Second Division Women as top seed.

This was not a great weekend for Capilano as only the 3B’s won.

The Premier Women lost to Westshore by a score of 53-24.

Caps were competitive for much of the match but Westshore stretched the lead in the final stages of the match to win comfortably. I watched the match until midway through the second half and took notes. Unfortunately the notes were misplaced along with my coat so I am going from memory. The teams traded scores for most of the first half and Caps were definitely in it. Caps still have work to do but looked like they are on the right track. Nevene Hammoud scored first for Capilano and the conversion put them ahead. Westshore fought back and scored their second try. I thought that the Westshore number 10 was outstanding and looked better as the game went on. Westshore was up two tries when I left to go to Burnaby and they scored a couple more to win comfortably. I was surprised that Westshore lost the previous game to Burnaby Lake but apparently they were short of players for the whole contest. Both sides now have one more regular season game before they move on to the playoffs. Congratulations to Westshore on the win. Thanks to the referee.

Capilano 3B’s won 29-19 over Squamish

Caps won this game on the road and look more powerful every time out. I did not see the match but the victory gave Capilano the top spot in the 3rd Division league and they now are at home to Kats in the first playoff game this Saturday at Klahanie. Hopefully Capilano supporters will be out in force to support these mature athletes as they attempt to retain the 3rd Division Championship.

Capilano Reserve Men:

The Capilano Reserve men lost to Burnaby 31-10

I did not see this match but a strong Burnaby side won comfortably. Congratulations to Burnaby Lake and thanks to the referee.

The Premier Men:

Burnaby won 58-7 and looked powerful doing so

The last time these two teams met it was competitive and Caps looked like they might win. Capilano supporters thought their team might have a chance at an upset. Burnaby didn’t need to win and perhaps they might rest some of their top players. Caps were missing Glen McKinnon and Sam Franklin who had knocked knees on the last play of the game last week. That final play against U-Vic denied Caps a second bonus point that would have put them in the Playoffs. Not only that but it cost them their Captain and scrum leader MacKinnon and solid fullback and goal kicker Franklin.

Burnaby came out today looking like a team getting ready for the playoffs. If they rested some players the replacements were out to show that they deserve starting consideration. Burnaby looked pumped, energized, confident, and strong. Caps looked tentative and nervous.

It didn’t take long for Burnaby to put their stamp on the game and they took the lead immediately. Early on it was 17-0 and Burnaby didn’t look back. Could Caps manage four tries? The answer was no. Johnny Franklin scored the only try for his team and it was a very good one. He cut, swerved and ran hard beating at least 3 or 4 attempted tacklers on his way. Caps had a few other chances to score but they were repelled by Burnaby tacklers. They might have scored another try or perhaps two but it did not look like they could get 4.

Caps were getting pushed in the scrums but did manage to get most of their own ball. The line outs were another matter. Caps were having problems hitting their jumpers and Burnaby was stealing their ball. Cap supporters wondered why their normal thrower wasn’t used. After the game I spoke to Jason de Freitas and he has a shoulder injury that prevented him from throwing in.

For Burnaby their back row particularly number 7, Rockson and number 8 Moleschuk were outstanding. Burnaby was full value for the win. If they continue to play at this level they could be a major factor in the playoffs. Perhaps this is their year!

For Capilano, frankly I didn’t think they were consistent enough to be a playoff contender. The highlights of the season was the home win over UBC and the road victory over James Bay but this was offset by losses to teams below them in the standings that they needed to beat. They have been exciting at times and show promise but there is work to be done and some holes to plug. Hopefully some help will come from returning players from UBC and other Universities that are Capilano products. Neil Courtney came back from UBC this season and is a rock!

Following the game many supporters from both clubs went to the Burnaby Clubhouse and shared several beers. Many of us played against the Trojans who are major supporters of the Burnaby Club. Congratulations to Burnaby on the wins today and thanks to referee David Smortchevsky for his handling of the game.