BC Rugby – Vancouver, BC  – February 15, 2016: BC Rugby is pleased to announce the rosters of the BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s Teams that will be participating in the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament on March 3^rd– 5^th, 2016.
 
Leading the way will be the BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s U18 Team, who will be defending the High School Elite Boys Division Title earned in 2015. They begin this year’s tournament in Pool D where they will face the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy, Utah Cannibals and Tribe Rugby. Elias Ergas will be the sole returnee from the 2015 Team that defeated the High School All-Americans in front of over 20,000 fans at Sam Boyd Stadium, but he will be joined by several graduates of last year’s U17 group, including Michael Smith, John Jubenvill, Brandon Schellenberger, Wylie Gillette, Logan Martin-Feek and Brennig Prevost.
 
With those players moving up, it creates an opportunity for emerging talent to rise through the ranks. Eight players from last year’s BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s Boys’ U16 Boys Team, which captured gold in the U16 Division, will provide the core of this year’s U17 Team, including Corben Bowen, Connor Byron, Henry Davitt, Koro Korobosaga, William McDougall-Percillier, Jack Scher, Jake Scott and Connor Sinclair.
 
Rounding out the group of 36 male athletes who will be representing BC in Las Vegas are the U16 Boys. For most of them, this will be their first taste of high-performance Sevens Rugby outside the training environment, but the group does have one of player in Sam Sirlin who has previously experienced victory in the Nevada desert.
 
“This is a big year for the Program, featuring several significant competitions,” said BC Rugby’s Program Director, Shane Thompson. “The boys are excited to get things started in Las Vegas. We have some very good players who have been in the Program for three or four years gaining skills and experience, and it’s really paying off.”
 
Following the Las Vegas Invitational, the BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s Program will be fielding Teams in the Vancouver Rugby Festival (March 10^th-11^th at the University of British Columbia), the Canadian 7s U18 Championship (March 10^th-11^th at the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club) and the Victoria International Youth Sevens (July 8^th-9^th at the University of Victoria).
 
When asked about the Program’s consistent success in recent years, in the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament and elsewhere, Thompson was quick to give credit to the athletes, in addition to the club and school coaches who have worked hard to help the players build a strong rugby foundation.
 
“The players have put in a lot of time and commitment with training,” said Thompson. ”We’re blessed to have so many great rugby athletes in BC and a lot of that can be attributed to the local coaches who are doing a great, year-round job to get the players prepared.”
 
A total of 18 BC High Schools and seven BC Rugby Clubs are represented on the BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s Team Rosters.
 
BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s U18 Boys’ Team | Las Vegas Invitational Sevens
 
Lucas Devries of Nanaimo, BC (St. Michaels University School)
Elias Ergas of North Vancouver, BC (Capilano RFC / Collingwood School)
Mostyn Findlay of Regina, SK (Shawnigan Lake School)
Wiley Gillette of Surrey, BC (Bayside Sharks RC / Earl Marriot Secondary School)
John Jubenvill of Surrey, BC (Bayside Sharks RC / Earl Marriot Secondary School)
Logan Martin-Feek of Victoria, BC  (Westshore RFC / Claremont Secondary School)
Matthew Houghton of North Vancouver (Capilano RFC / Rockridge Secondary School)
Evan Norris of Victoria, BC (Shawnigan Lake School)
Brennig Prevost of Victoria, BC (Castaway Wanderers / Glenlyon Norfolk School)
Thomas Rennie of Abbotsford, BC (Abbotsford RFC / Yale Secondary School)
Brandon Schellenberger of Victoria, BC (Castaway Wanderers / Oak Bay High School)
Michael Smith of Surrey, BC (Earl Marriot Secondary School)
 
BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s U17 Boys’ Team | Las Vegas Invitational Sevens
 
Corben Bowen of Chilliwack, BC (Abbotsford RFC / Sardis Secondary School)
Connor Byron of Abbotsford, BC (Abbotsford RFC / Yale Secondary School)
Henry Davitt of North Vancouver, BC (Capilano / Sutherland Secondary School)
Liam Gray of West Vancouver, BC (Capilano RFC / Mulgrave School)
Koro Korobasaga of Surrey, BC (Queen Elizabeth Secondary School)
William McDougall-Percillier of Mill Bay, BC (Cowichan RFC / Brentwood College School)
Lucas Portillo of Mill Bay, BC (Cowichan RFC / Brentwood College School)
Carter Proc of West Vancouver, BC (Capilano / Collingwood School)
Jack Scher of Vancouver, BC  (Vancouver Rowing Club / St. George’s School)
Jake Scott of West Vancouver, BC (Capilano RFC / Sentinel Secondary School)
Conor Sinclair of Cranbrook, BC (Shawnigan Lake School)
Chris Small of North Vancouver (Capilano RFC / Sutherland Secondary School)
 
BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s U16 Boys’ Team | Las Vegas Invitational Sevens
 
Ciaran Breen of Mill Bay, BC (Cowichan RFC / Brentwood College School)
Cameron Bruk of West Vancouver, BC (Capilano / Collingwood School)
Jarvis Dashkewytch of Delta, BC (Brit-Lions RC / South Delta Secondary School)
Hector Jardine of Saanich, BC (Castaway-Wanderers / Oak Bay High School)
Lachlan Kratz of Victoria, BC (Castaway-Wanderers/ Oak Bay High School)
James MacDonald of White Rock, BC (Bayside Sharks / Shawnigan Lake School)
Dexter MacDonald of Vancouver, BC (Lord Byng Secondary School)
Carter Miller of Abbotsford, BC (Abbotsford RFC / Shawnigan Lake School)
Cooper Powell of North Vancouver (Capilano RFC / Sutherland Secondary School)
Hans Senger of Vancover, BC (Vancouver Rowing Club / St.George’s School)
Sam Sirlin of Vancouver, BC (Vancouver Rowing Club / St.George’s School)
Reece Tudor-Jones of Shawnigan Lake, BC (Cowichan RFC / Shawnigan Lake School)
 
Program Coaches:
Shane Thompson of Mill Bay, BC
Tony LaCarte of Victoria, BC
Gregor Dixon of Victoria, BC

The BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s Program is proudly sponsored by Adera

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

 

To download the press release in Word, click here.

For further information, please contact:
 
BC Rugby
Brendan Munro
Communications Manager
Tel: +1- 604-737-3070
Cell: +1-604-349-3104
bmunro@bcrugby.com

The BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s Boys Teams are travelling to the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament in March to defend a pair of Sevens Divisional Titles (photo: BC Rugby)