Canadian rugby fans can’t miss the impact being made by James Bay Athletic Association, Castaway Wanderers of Oak Bay and the University of Victoria Vikes on the national team at the 2015 World Cup taking place in England.
The three clubs have contributed a combined 18 players, either current or alumni, to the Canadian team at the World Cup.
Club play continued Saturday in the Barnard Cup Island portion of the season with JBAA (1-2) defeating the Westshore Valhallians (0-3) 41-31 and the UVic Vikes (3-0) besting CW (2-1) 29-23. The top-three teams will advance to the 2016 B.C. Premier season.
There was an interesting juxtaposition when JBAA, the grand-daddy of Island teams, made its first visit to Juan de Fuca to play the Westshore Valhallians. There is a fresh feel to the Westshore side, in its first season, but it comes with an old interlinked backstory.
The Velox Valhallians were formed in 1968 as a breakaway faction from James Bay — the group wanted to play a more expansive brand of rugby than JBAA’s traditional approach — and Velox went on to boast a roster that included Canadian national team greats and World Cup players Winston Stanley and Mark Wyatt. Now, after 47 years in Saanich/Gordon Head, the Velox Valhallians have moved across town to become Westshore.
As part of the deal, the Valhallians paid $450,000 for a new artificial turf infield for the Juan de Fuca velodrome, which can be used as a practice pitch. It also further helped assure the future of the once-troubled cycling portion of the 1994 Commonwealth Games velodrome, out of which Gillian Carleton came to win bronze at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and Evan Carey gold recently at the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games as he points to Rio 2016.
“Lacrosse and soccer also use the velodrome infield,” said Wyatt, the Valhallians playing legend, who is now president of the club.
“The move has been fantastic for our club and for the Westshore in general. It’s one of the fastest growing communities in Canada and there are so many untapped kids coming through the school system that it’s great to have a rugby program to offer them. Especially since Rugby Canada is based here [in Langford].”
Wyatt noted the latter means men’s and women’s World Cup players, and those in sevens preparing for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, are right there as day-to-day role models. The Valhallians have been a provincial champion power on the women’s side. The men’s team is a work in progress.
“Few of our men’s players have had Premier experience before this, and it’s been an eye-opener against Vikes and CW players who can really throw the ball around,” said Wyatt. “But we’re progressing on a weekly basis.”
The future, and demographics, seem to be on their side. Don’t be surprised to see Valhallians joining the Island parade on the Canadian team to the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
