BC Bears Look to Get Revenge on Prairie Wolfpack in Friday Night Rugby Show

Vancouver, BC - August 2, 2018: BC Rugby is excited to announce the roster for the BC Bears ahead of their Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) match against the Prairie Wolfpack, which kicks off this Friday at 7pm at Klahanie Park. The Bears suffered a close loss to the Wolfpack last Friday in Calgary but have the opportunity to turn the two-legged tie around when the teams face off on Friday night on in North Vancouver.

This match is the only time BC fans will get to see the Bears in action in the 2018 CRC campaign.  Taking place at the storied Klahanie Park, the game will surely be an entertaining affair, both teams well-matched. In the Bears’ favour is the result from the last time the two teams met on BC soil when they beat the Wolfpack comprehensively 43-0 at UBC in 2017.

Coach Jebb Sinclair credited the seven changes in the lineup to knicks and knocks taken in the last game. “A lot of the changes are due to injury and a lot of the changes are based on guys who have been coming to training and working hard”. The Bears certainly want to put up big points against the Wolfpack, but Sinclair intimated that their game plan would stay relatively the same. “I think on attack, we probably did some things right, but didn’t execute well enough. The defense was sort of a sore area for the coaching staff. A lot of players are new to that BC level and the sort of aggression that is required, they need to adjust”, he added. According to Sinclair, the Bears are feeling confident moving forward. He cites that they wouldn’t be a good team or good competitors if they were satisfied with a loss, but the team and coaching staff are feeling positive going into Friday’s match.

James Pitblado gets the start at halfback this week, with Jordan Sandover-Best coming off the bench. Sinclair said they need the #9s to have more command, “We’re looking for them to control the game a bit more. They’re obviously two young, very good players, but in any game, the halfbacks are sort of the whole lynchpin for everything”.

This is sure to be an exciting game with the Bears looking for a big win on home soil. It will be interesting to see how they respond and if they can demonstrate that extra level of play they reached during last week’s second half. Lots of new players are coming into this week’s game, giving the team somewhat of a new look.

While the Bears won’t repeat last year’s clean sweep of the Canadian Rugby Championships, they still have tons to play for when the game kicks off at Klahanie this Friday.  The winner of this two-legged tie gets top seeding in the semi-final games in Calgary against Ontario Blues / Atlantic Rock on August 23rd before hopefully reaching the Final on August 26.

Tickets for the match will be available at the gate and cost $10. Children and high school students with valid ID get in free of charge and there will be a bar service provided by Capilano RFC in their clubhouse. As a warm up to the game, the BC U14 Boys’ Representative team will be playing a match against Washington State, with that game kicking off at 5.45pm.

For information on the game, as well as a link to the live stream, go to bcrugby.com/bears and stay tuned to our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

1. Noah Barker - JBAA (Courtney, BC) 
2. Steven Ng - James Bay RFC (Ottawa, ON) 
3. Liam Murray - James Bay RFC (Langley, BC) 
4. Travis Larson - JBAA (Parksville, BC) 
5. Shea Wakefield - James Bay RFC (Victoria, BC) 
6. Dustin Dobravsky - Castaway Wanderers RFC (Hanover, Germany) 
7. Nathan Stewart - Castaway Wanderers RFC (Victoria, BC) 
8. Luke Campbell - JBAA (Victoria, BC) 
9. James Pitblado - Uvic Vikes (Victoria, BC) 
10. Theo Sauder - UBC Thunderbirds (Vancouver, BC) 
11. Clayton Meeres - JBAA (Chilliwack, BC) 
12. Guiseppe DuToit - Uvic Vikes (Victoria, BC) 
13. Doug Fraser - Castaway Wanderers RFC (Victoria, BC) 
14. Jared Douglas - Abbotsford RFC (Abbotsford, BC) 
15. Sean Ferguson - UBCOB Ravens (Vancouver, BC) 
16. Blake Van Heyningen - JBAA (Courteney, BC) 
17. John Braddock - Castaway Wanderers RFC (Victoria, BC) 
18. Nik Hilderbrand - Burnaby RFC (Nanaimo, BC) 
19. Jason Hignell - Abbotsford RFC (Abbotsford, BC) 
20. Ollie Nott - Uvic Vikes (Victoria, BC) 
21. Jordan Sandover - Best - UBCOB Ravens (Abbotsford, BC) 
22. Mike Nieuwenhuysen - James Bay RFC (Victoria, BC) 
23. Josh Theil - Abbotsford RFC (Abbotsford, BC) 

Staff

Coach - Dean Murten (Vancouver, BC)

Coach - Jebb Sinclair (Vancouver, BC)

Coach - Scott Manning (Victoria, BC)

Coach - Mario Domingues (Vancouver, BC)

Coach - Angel Coividanes (White Rock, BC)

Manager - Des Lynch (Victoria, BC)

Bears 24-27 Wolfpack @ Calgary, AB – July 27, 6pm

Bears vs Wolfpack @ Klahanie Park, BC - August 3rd, 7pm

Bears vs. Ontario Blues/Atlantic Rock @ Calgary, AB – August 23rd 4pm

3^rd Place Playoff – August, 11am

CRC Final – August 26th, 1pm

(All above schedule times in PDT)

More information about BC Rugby

The British Columbia Rugby Union, commonly known as BC Rugby, is the governing body for Rugby in British Columbia and is a Provincial Union of Rugby Canada, the national governing body. Representing over 7,500 individuals registered through around 60 Member Clubs and Associations across the Province, BC Rugby leads and manages the sport with the aim to grow participation and develop excellence in all games of Rugby and in all facets of the sport.

Web: bcrugby.com

Twitter: twitter.com/bcrugbyunion

Facebook: facebook.com/bcrugbyunion

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