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Brit-Lions
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All Ex-Britannia, Ex- Gladstone, Red Lions, Brit-Lions are invited to celebrate 80 Years of Rugby on the weekend of Oct 24th and 25th 2008
from Don Brown
posted Sept 29 2008
All Ex-Britannia, Ex- Gladstone, Red Lions, Brit-Lions are invited to celebrate 80 Years of Rugby on the weekend of Oct 24th and 25th 2008.
On Friday Oct 24th at Burnaby Lake at 7pm all Alumni are invited to come meet the present players and socialize with the old.
Saturday Oct 25th will be Alumni day at the fields in Delta at John Oliver Park with games starting at 10am. U19s, 1st 2nd and 3rds divisions will all play.
At 6:30 pm at Bonsor Community Center in Burnaby the 80th Anniversary bash will take place. The Guest speaker is Davey Barrett (Ex-Brit Alumni) along with many other famous Alumni. The Ex Brits started in 1928 in Vancouver and continued to play continuously through to the 1990’s when they joined up with the Red Lions. The Red Lions came about from another “ex” team in East Vancouver, Ex-Gladstone. The Ex -Gladstone team was formed around the 1957-58 season so it is a 50th anniversary also. The Brit-Lions wore Retro Jerseys in 2008 reflecting the two clubs. One set Green and White hoops to reflect the Ex-Britannia heritage and the Red and Black hoops to reflect the Red Lions Heritage. These jerseys will be retired on Oct 25th being auctioned off to the highest bidders. The move to Delta from Vancouver has had some challenges for the team. Not many clubs pack up and move but the Brit Lions did it and survived winning a few Provincial Championships in the process. Dedicated Alumni have made it all possible and this anniversary is to honor them. With the addition of a women’s program this year the club is continuing its growth and has a good stock of youth at all levels.
Over 275 tickets for the Saturday Night have been sold. Some may come available so please contact Walter Johnstone at 604 291 1765 for more info. Friday night is open to all that want to attend , as well as Alumni day at John Oliver Park in Delta.
More info at www.britlionsrugby.com or www.deltarugby.com .
Brit-Lions win 2nd division title at Brockton Oval
by Don Brown
posted May 7 2008
Brit Lions Rugby May 3rd 2008
Brockton Oval
2nd division finals
Saturday morning had the Brit lions meeting at John Oliver ParK in Delta at noon to board a school bus to travel to Stanley Park's Brockton Oval. A good mixture of supporters, veterans and youth boarded the bus. Everyone knew that it was to be a long day win or lose but it would be a good day as the rain was supposed to wain and the sun was to shine sooner or later.
Players aged from 17 year old scrum half Malcom Lenahan to 18 year old winger Matt Parno all the way to Veteran Number 8 Rob Verrelli and over 40 winger Al Chui and captain Martin Jones (UVic grad) knew that it would not be a easy game against Cowichan at 2:30pm. The two time 2nd division Champs, unbeaten since March 2006 boarded the bus hoping to take the title for a third straight year. The trip was somber and quiet with everyone thinking about their role on the day. The season had been very different from the last 3 years with a large number of injuries striking the 1st team late in the season and a lot of the teams younger players being called up to fill in. The addition of a 3rds team in the second half was a major factor to the team success continuing into the playoffs. The team is made up of many family groups. The Lenahans have 3 brothers playing as do the Ferraros, and Fairweathers. Throw in a dozen father-son combinations and you soon realize the club is pretty much one big family group.
The squad on the day was wearing Red and Black hoops in celebration of the Red Lions 50th anniversary. The first squad uniforms this season were green and white in honor of the Ex-Brits 80th year. Both groups will celebrate 80 years of rugby this fall on Oct 25th at Bonsor Community center in Burnaby.
The Brit Lions came out hard scoring early and making it hard for Cowichan to get back into the game. Tries by Dave Watson and scrum half Al Ferraro early in the game and conversions by Martin Jones made the 1st half seem out of reach but Cowichan did not give up. They never stopped pressing right to the end of the game. Winger Adam Jensen scored in the corner and Man of the Match Remy Antcil scored and delivered some very hard tackles. All the Brit Lion subs were able to get in the game in the second half. Veteran Rob Verrelli received the biggest goose egg on record and had to leave the game.
The venue could not have been better as Brockton Oval has more history than any pitch in the Province and it was a pleasure to play and win in Stanley Park with some of the best views anywhere in the world. Hats off to all who played and came out to watch and the Delta boys will be pleased to play again next May. The club hopes all old Alumni will be out for the 80th this fall.
Brit-Lions back in Div 1 final for 3rd year in a row - High School rugby from Delta
Story by Andrew Walker
Photos By Don Brown
Div 1 Brit-Lions v Kamloops
On Saturday welcome sunshine saw Deltas' Brit-Lions 1st team play-off semi-final against rivals Kamloops.This game was the finale for a great day of rugby at John Oliver Park.Earlier in the day South Delta played Piedmont from California and the Brit-Lions U-16 played Mulgrave School, with the Brit-Lions 2nd XV also winning their semi-final against Vancouver Rowing Club their quest to retain the BC Championship remains on course.With all the previous games and a strong turn out from the club's alumni an impressive crowd closing in on 500 people awaited the final game.
The game started well for Brit-Lions with an early penalty by Dale Minimata giving a 3-0 lead.Kamloops put pressure on the Brit-Lions denying them possession which resulted in two penalty kicks that were unsuccessful but the Kamloops pressure continued and eventually resulted in a try being scored and converted,7-3 Kamloops. Kamloops continued to keep the ball away from the Brit-Lions and found holes in the defense that prior to now had been strong. A Brit - Lions counter-attack resulted in another successful penalty kick for Dale,7-6 Kamloops. The visitors came back at the Brit-Lions again and after another line break they managed to score a second try out wide, with the kick missed,12-6 Kamloops. Brit-Lions continued to struggle for the ball and after a previous warning a Brit-Lions flanker was sent to the sin bin, putting the home team a man short for 10 minutes. During this time Kamloops put constant pressure on the home defense that managed to stand strong and when they returned to full strength and with half-time closing in the Brit-Lions finally put on a flowing move the length of the field that resulted in 2007 MVP Mike Clark scoring under the posts and with Dale converting the kick Brit-Lions went in to half-time 13-12 in front.
Hoping that they had weathered the storm and with some adjustments made to the game plan Brit-Lions started the second half positively but Kamloops continued to turn over the ball in contact and find gaps that no other club had done this season. With the play continuing at a frantic pace and the warm weather, players on both sides were feeling the effects. The second half continued with play going backwards and forwards between the two 22 meter lines . Brit-Lions held on to the slender lead until seven minutes from time when the Kamloops backs found another gap in the defense and with good pace they scored a try out wide, the kick was missed and the score was now 17-13 Kamloops. The pace of the game was really taking its toll now with numerous players cramping up. Brit-Lions were fighting for their season now and started to commit unforced errors in dangerous positions which allowed Kamloops to eat up valuable time. With barely five minutes left to go Brit-Lions introduced some fresher legs that brought about a much needed boost .The Brit-Lions now began to take control of the ball and with just over a minute of regular time to go some good support play and ball movement got the home team up to the Kamloops goal line , after some patient drives at the line Vince Ferraro managed to twist and muscle his way over the line to score, Dale missed the kick making the score now 18-17 Brit-Lions. Kamloops kicked off in injury time hoping to get the game back but Brit-Lions managed to turn over the ball and drove to the Kamloops line but were held up in goal and the referee's whistle brought the game to an end. The large crowd had seen the normally fluent Brit-Lions stifled by a well coached Kamloops club, who had come within minutes of shocking the undefeated home team. Commiserations to Kamloops but the Brit-Lions showed their will to win, even on a day that didn't go all their way.
Brit-Lions now have a week to regroup and recover before next weekends final.
This will be the 1st team's third visit to the BC final in a row and hopefully we can over turn the previous two losses and make it third time lucky. Thanks go to the large support and the club staff that made Saturday such a successful event, hopefully they follow us to the final game and a double win will bring a very good season to a happy end. Fraser Valley Fans were disappointed to hear of the finals being held in West Vancouver. With Fans coming from Delta, Langley and Richmond it was hoped a more central location could be used and get more people out to the games and promote local Rugby. Go Brit-Lions.
Div 2 Brit-Lions v Rowing Club
The 2nd Division game had Vancouver Rowing Club meeting the undefeated Delta Squad in a repeat of last years Provincial final. An early Try by Cole McQueen and conversion by Marty Jones put Delta up 7 to 0. A stellar defense for the remainder of the first half kept the Rowers off the score board. With some key changes at the half the Rowers came out with a new look and scored early making it a game but the Delta defense continued to thwart all attacks at the goal. A converted try and a drop goal late in the second half put the defending Champs back in the Provincial Final. The final was 17 to 5.
High School rugby
Saturday at John Oliver Park kicked off with 2 high school games. The first game had South Delta Secondary Seniors playing Piedmont High school touring side from San Francisco California. Piedmont won 17 to 13 with a try very late in the match to snatch victory from the South Delta. Outstanding players for South Delta were Flanker Gabe Tobias and center Justis Price Brown.
The second High School game had players from Delview, North Delta, Seaquam and Killarney playing Mulgrave Private school from West Vancouver. The Delta team was led by Canadian u17 Reserve player Jonathan Wong who played at the number 8 position in the scrum. The exhibition game was well played by both teams playing some good rugby. The Brit Lions All Star team eventully won the match.
Over 100 grade 10 to 12 players participated in the 2 games and when all the Rugby was over stayed and celebrated the good weather watching the senior playoff games and grazing on free burgers and pop. Hats off to the many volunteers on the day that manned the Bbq for 6 hours and feed all the juniors and the Kamloops team.
All the days activities at www.britlionsrugby.smugmug.com
Brit Lions win three from Richmond in 1st, 2nd and U19
by Don Brown
posted Oct 16 2006
Richmond was at John Oliver Park in Delta for 3 games on Saturday. The first game was the Delta U19s vs the undefeated Richmond team. From the get-go the Lions forced Richmond to defend deep in their own half. The early pressure paid off, with a well-worked try scored by number 8 Ryan McHollister. The Delta boys continued the constant pressure as Richmond attempted to counter by kicking for field position. This tactic proved fruitless though, as Brit Lions fullback Cole McQueen, always dangerous with the ball in hand, fielded an errant kick and ran 50 metres to score another try for the home team.
The Richmond team did not lie down however and fought back during the middle portion of the game. With Brit Lions number 8, Ryan McHollister in the sin bin, Richmond struck twice, scoring two tries and a convert to lead 12 points to 10 at the half.
Richmond continued to exert pressure in the early part of the second half and kept play inside the Brit Lions half of the field. Stout defence by the Delta boys kept them from scoring and took the wind out of their sails. In the last twenty minutes the superior fitness and mobility of the home side forwards gradually broke down the Richmond defence. With skilful ball handling they worked their way down field. Lineout 5 metres from the Richmond line resulted in prop Ross Ferarro thundering over for a try. The versatile Eric Crang finished off any Richmond resistance by scoring another try with 5 minutes to go. Full back Cole McQueen converted to make the final tally 22 to 12.
The Second Division game had Delta win 30 to 12. Full back John Wright lead the team with two tries and Dale Minimata scored two converts and two penalty kicks.
In First Division action Delta won 47 to 16 with trys scored by Vince Ferraro, Mike Clark, Scott Irwin, Tim Barret and a hat trick for Colin Rassmussen. Adam Jensen converted three and kicked two penalty goals.
Sunday the U16 team hosted Langley winning 60 to 12. Mini Rugby kicked off their first games travelling to the Meralomas home in Vancouver. The U14s won all three games The Grade 6 and Grade 4 teams both won 2 games and lost one on a very wet opening day.
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