More Canadians were exposed to rugby last year, thanks to TSN's extensive coverage of the 2011 World Cup from New Zealand, than at any time previous.

The Canadian Direct Insurance B.C. Premier League, which produced 27 of the 30 Canadian World Cup players, plans to keep riding that wave and began its 2012 season Saturday with a renewed sense of purpose.

"We want to keep the momentum going for Canadian rugby from last year when the sport gained a lot more popularity in this country, mainly because of TSN showing the World Cup," said Andrew Tiedemann, one of those World Cup players.

Tiedemann and his Castaway Wanderer teammates did their part in keeping the excitement level rolling at the club level with a pulsating 28-27 victory over the University of Victoria Vikes at Windsor Park.

When two-thirds of your front row was in the 2011 World Cup for Canada — including one of the hirsute so-called Beardos — chances are you will dominate forward play. A CW front line that included World Cup players Tiedemann and Hubert Buydens, the latter whose flowing beard complemented former UVic star Adam Kleeberger's more famous one at the World Cup, dominated scrum play.

"We have bigger, stronger guys than UVic, and you have to play to that strength. So we scrummed as much as possible," said Tiedemann, himself a Vikes player for five years before graduating from UVic last spring.

Tiedemann, Buydens, Dylan Jones and Johnny Morris scored the tries for defending B.C. champion CW while Matt Buckley converted all four.

UVic was led by two tries each from Beau Parker and Dustin Dobravsky while Patrick Kay from Cowichan, considered a potential future international for Canada, kicked three converts, a penalty goal and a drop goal.

"CW was the heavier side, and their forwards spun our scrum around a bit," said Parker, the SMUS grad who recently represented Canada at the Dubai and South Africa IRB sevens tournaments.

"Their two World Cup players on the front line [Tiedemann and Buydens] pushed our boys around," added the third-year UVic psychology major.

"But it was a pretty good first game of the season, and a close one, as both sides fought hard."

Across town in James Bay, 22-time B.C. champion JBAA defeated Abbotsford 27-10 at Macdonald Park.

The clubs' records against other Premier teams from the fall Island and Lower Mainland seasons are carried over into B.C. Premier League play, so JBAA moved to 3-0, Castaway Wanderers to 2-1, UVic to 1-2 and Abbotsford to 0-3. The other teams are Burnaby Lake (3-0), Capilano (2-1), UBCOB Ravens (1-2) and Meralomas (0-3).