During the months of July and
August 2000 a party of 27 players with 3 staff set off on a three-week rugby tour of
Western Canada. Departing on the 19 July the group first headed for Vancouver
in British Columbia, and then by ferry to Vancouver Island where they were
hosted by the Cowichan Rugby Club. Cowichan is a small town on the east side of
the island, an hour and a half north of the capital, Victoria. Here the rugby
was extremely physical but the hospitality was magnificent. The party being
treated to water-skiing, tubing and crabbing, (Mr.Walker nearly lost a finger
taking a crab out of the pot.).
After Cowichan the party headed
back to Vancouver, for a match against a Fraser Valley Districts side. Fraser
Valley are one of the best of the Districts in British Columbia, and with seven
injuries from the Cowichan game, this was the only game we lost on tour.
The next stop was in the Okanagan
district of British Columbia. Here we played a combined Enderby/Salmon Arm
Schools side The Yetis. As this side had played us in Dublin, their
hospitality was extra special :- white-water rafting on the Adams River, (famous
for its salmon run and grizzly bears), beach volleyball and swimming in Shuswap
Lake.
Kamloops was the next stop, where
we encountered the highest temperatures on tour. The game kicked-off at 2.00pm
and the temperature reached 37°C. Despite being 26 12 down with ten minutes
to go we were victorious 31 26. We wont mention that their key player was
yellowed-carded for the last ten minutes.
A well-earned rest was needed
after this game, and so we spent the next three days sightseeing in the Canadian
Rockies. Staying in log cabins, swimming in hot springs (40.2°C), walking on
glaciers, and with breath-taking scenery, this was just the tonic we needed. The
next two games were the best rugby we played on tour. With a victory against the
famous Calgary Irish rugby club, the last match was the Test, against the
Province of Alberta in Edmonton. In this game despite the 28°C temperatures, we
scored a total of eight tries and won impressively 44-14.
Overall the tour was a great
success, both on and off the field, certainly three weeks never to be forgotten.
A special word of takes must go to all our friends in Canada for their
magnificent kindness and hospitality.
(Photograph below: the team vs
the Yetis)
Results:
v. Cowichan. won 27 10.
v. Fraser Valley Districts. lost
16 18.
v. Yetis. won 22 5.
v. Kamloops. won 31 26.
v. Calgary Irish. won 33 10.
v. Alberta. won 44 14.
Some of the Canada tour group
white water rafting
Try clicking here for a virtual visit to Vancouver/Victoria
British Columbia
rugby links
Alberta
Rugby Union
Calgary
Hornets RFC
Kamloops
RFC
Canadian Rugby
Union
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