From the likes of Gareth Rees, John Graf and Ed Fairhurst in the past to Mike Fuailefau and Luke McCloskey currently, St. Michaels University School alumni have always seemed to have gone on to occupy stalls in Canadian national rugby team dressing rooms.
The latest incarnation of Blue Jags are ranked No. 1 in the B.C. double-A high school rankings and continued their quest for a third consecutive provincial title by defeating the visiting Claremont Spartans 45-17 on Thursday afternoon.
The next Blue Jags player prepped to move on appears to be Grade 12 star Quinn Ngawati, who is away with the touring Canadian U-19 team in Wales.
“We’ve been quite fortunate and Quinn looks prepared and poised to carry on the tradition,” said SMUS coach Ian Hyde-Lay, who has guided the Blue Jags to consecutive B.C. titles the past two years.
Most of SMUS’ talent, current and graduated, has been and is among the ball handlers along the edges rather than the big boys in the trenches.
“We play a wide-open game that emphasizes handling and passing. Maybe we over-emphasize it . . . and that’s why you see [a Jags alumni presence on the national team] that favours the backs,” added Hyde-Lay.
SMUS has won six B.C. championships since 1991 and is 4-0 this season with earlier non-league victories over Elgin Park, Brentwood College and Rockridge. Hyde-Lay, however, is predicting a tight double-A race for the 2017 provincial title that includes the other top-five ranked teams Collingwood, Rockridge, Brentwood College and McMath.
The Glenlyon Norfolk Gryphons are No. 8 and the Nanaimo Islanders an honourable mention in the double-A provincial rankings.
In triple-A, the Shawnigan Lake School Stags are again ranked No. 1 in B.C. as that dynasty looks for its eighth provincial championship in nine years. St. George’s is No. 2, Oak Bay No. 3, Carson Graham No. 4 and Yale No. 5.
The Stags’ two biggest stars, Evan Norris and Seth Purdy, are currently away with the Canadian U-19 team in Wales along with Ngawati.
“To make that team in Grade 12 is a great achievement,” said Hyde-Lay, indicating the level of high school play on the Island.
Meanwhile, this is the second season of the Stadium Series, which features key B.C. high school rugby match-ups in venues such as Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford and Centennial Stadium in Victoria.
It helps give the teams more profile, noted Hyde-Lay.
“And it allows for more cross-zone games that makes the provincial rankings more accurate,” he added.
The first wave of Stadium Series games was on the Lower Mainland last weekend at Swangard and Rotary stadiums and Klahanie Park. The next round is May 5-6 at venues around Greater Victoria and at Shawnigan Lake School.
In other key 2017 season dates, the annual SMUS-Oak Bay Boot Game is April 29 at SMUS and the Howard Russell Cup Lower Island final May 11 at a venue to be determined. The Island playoffs begin May 18 and the B.C. championships run May 31-June 3 in Abbotsford.
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