BC Rugby – Vancouver, BC – July 11, 2017 – BC Rugby is proud to announce the BC Bears squad ahead of their first match in the 2017 Canadian Rugby Championships, sponsored by Langara Fishing Adventures. Canadian and BC stalwarts Phil Mack, Anthony Luca and Jake Illnicki will be leading a squad balanced with young talent and experienced hands against the Prairie Wolf Pack at Thunderbird Stadium this Friday. As the only home game in the competition, The BC Bears are keen to make the most of the home field advantage before the tournament moves to Calgary in August.
 
The new-look squad, under the direction of Head Coach, Tony Healy of James Bay AA, will be keen to get off to a winning start and make amends for last year. The opening match of the 2016 CRC witnessed a closely fought game against Prairie Wolf Pack, with victory stolen from the Bears in the closing moments. Seven players that started that match are present this year, including Giusseppe DuToit, Doug Fraser, Andrew Lackner, Anthony Luca, Craig McLaughlin, Jordan Reid-Harvey and Brock Staller. 

New additions to this year’s line-up include George Barton and Anton N’Gongo who both starred in Canada’s U20 Men’s qualifying victory over the USA in Edmonton this June.  Joining them are Paul Ahn, Luke Campbell, Neil Courtney, Harjun Gill, Jake Ilnicki, Travis Larsen, Phil Mack, Aaron McLelland, Mike Nieuwenhuysen, Nakai Penny, Cam Polson, Gavin Rowell, Taitusi Vikilani and Connor Weyell.  

Canada Senior Men’s Team players Ilnicki, Mack and Luca will bring an extra element of experience and composure to the squad off the back of the test series games against Romania, Georgie and USA last month.  With a further five players hailing from the BC Rugby Men’s Premier League 2017 Champions, UBC Thunderbirds, there is no question that the squad is well equipped to deal with the pressure and expectation building ahead of the match.

Senior Manager of Rugby Growth & Development at BC Rugby, Dean Murten, struck a positive tone stating, “I am excited to see how the BC Bears perform in the 2017 CRC.  They started the season well with a good performance against a Canadian Tyee team in May, and they’ve been putting the work in to ensure they are well prepared for a high tempo match.”  

Murten went on to say, “The team has a good balance of youth, and experience.  We know the Wolfpack will play a direct physical game and we’re all very excited to get this season off to a great start.”
 
UBC Thunderbird Stadium will be the venue for this much-anticipated match, with kick off at 7.00pm (PDT). Tickets are available at the gate from 6pm at just $12 for adults and free for minors (please bring valid High School ID). 

For those that can’t make it to the venue, the game will be live streamed at bcrugby.com/bc-rugby-live-streaming/.
 
After this opening match, the CRC tournament will shift to Calgary, with the remaining games being played from August 13-19 at Rugby Park.

Match Details
BC Bears vs. Prairie Wolf Pack
2017 Canadian Rugby Championship, sponsored by Langara Fishing Adventures
Thunderbird Stadium – UBC
Friday, July 14, 7pm Kickoff
Tickets at the Gate from 6pm

BC Bears’ Canadian Rugby Championship Schedule
Bears vs. Wolf Pack — July 14 — 7pm PDT
Bears vs. Rock — Aug 13 — 3pm MDT/2pm PDT
Bears vs. Blues — Aug 16 — 5pm MDT/4pm PDT
3^rd Place Playoff — Aug 19 — 5pm MDT/4pm PDT
CRC Final — Aug 19 — 7pm MDT/6pm PDT
 
BC Bears’ Squad vs. Prairie Wolf Pack

Paul Ahn	UBC Thunderbirds	Vancouver, BC
George Barton	ASM Clermont-Ferrand	Duncan, BC
Luke Campbell	James Bay AA	Victoria, BC
Neil Courtney	UBC Thunderbirds	Vancouver, BC
Giusseppe DuToit	UVIC Vikes	Victoria, BC
Doug Fraser	Castaway Wanderers RFC	Victoria, BC
Harjun Gill	UBCOB Ravens RFC	Vancouver, BC
Jake Ilnicki	Castaway Wanderers RFC	Victoria, BC
Andrew Lackner	Burnaby Lake RFC	Pitt Meadows, BC
Travis Larsen	James Bay AA	Victoria, BC
Anthony Luca	Burnaby Lake RFC	Pitt Meadows, BC
Phil Mack	James Bay AA	Victoria, BC
Craig McLaughlin	Burnaby Lake RFC	Burnaby, BC
Aaron McLelland	UBCOB Ravens RFC	Vancouver, BC
Anton N’Gongo	Castaway Wanderers RFC	Victoria, BC
Mike Nieuwenhuysen	James Bay AA	Victoria, BC
Nakai Penny	UBC Thunderbirds	Comox, BC
Cam Polson	Castaway Wanderers RFC	Victoria, BC
Jordan Reid-Harvey	Capilano RFC	Vancouver, BC
Gavin Rowell	UVIC Vikes RFC	Abbotsford, BC
Brock Staller	UBC Thunderbirds	Vancouver, BC
Taitusi Vikilani	Burnaby Lake RFC	Burnaby, BC
Connor Weyell	UBC Thunderbirds	Vancouver, BC
Staff
Tony Healy	Head Coach	Victoria, BC
Phil Mack	Assistant Coach	Victoria, BC
Des Lynch	Manager/Mental Skills Coach	Vancouver, BC
Monique Charbonneau	Therapist	Vancouver, BC

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

For further information, please contact:

BC Rugby
Euan McGhee
Marketing & Communications Manager
emcghee@bcrugby.com
Tel: +1- 604-737-3070