Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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I 22-0. We did not help our cause at all with sloppy defensive play and unintelligent kicking. It was in this match that our shortcomings were exposed and it became clear that we would need to tighten up the play of the backs in all areas but the forwards, although on the small side, were already showing signs of becoming a pack in the real sense of the word. St. George ' s beat us by two penalty goals to one in an exciting but not very skilful match here at Shawnigan. Neither side was able to take advantage of a number of scoring opportunities and each team missed some very kickable penalty goals. Never- theless there was an obvious improvement in our overall team play which was carried over into our next fixture against University of Victoria Jutes. We lost this game 6-14 but the Jutes only scored in the last few minutes to salt the game away. We were simply worn down by older and larger opponents as we were unable to prevent them from scoring two tries late in the game. The vagaries of our scheduling this year saw us have to play our return fixture against S.M.U. before we had met Brentwood at all. We lost a real heart breaker 15-17 with S.M.U. scoring their winning points in injury time. This was a fine school match with both sides playing some exciting rugby, one minute attacking strongly and the next defending stoutly. We had been hearing from everyone just how large and good Brentwood ' s forwards were and for the first ten minutes of our match here they certainly lived up to this reputation as they scored two push- over tries and generally man-handled us. Once this initial onslaught had worn off, the remainder of the game was very even and the only further score came midway through the second half when Brentwood went further ahead with a penalty goal. The game itself was a dull affair with Brentwood unable to make much of the considerable amount of the ball they won and ourselves defending well and trying to launch sporadic counter attacks from our meagre possession. Playing the Old Boys the day after the Brentwood game is asking a lot from the boys but they came through the ordeal rather well although the SLOBS prevailed by a 20-7 score. For our return fixture at St. George ' s we made two changes in the backs which seemed to work out for us quite well as we finally won a close one, scoring the winning try in the closing moments of the game. It had been a very close game all the way with us getting off to an early lead only to see St. George ' s first catch us up and then take the lead themselves. Just when it seemed that we had once again played well enough to win but had allowed the game to slip from our grasp, Peel rallied his troops. We surged to the attack and after some minutes of stiff pressure with St. George ' s defending desperately, Emery dived over right in the corner for the winning try. It was a very happy team that left the field. Despite a number of setbacks, the team had never become despondent and their spirit remained strong and positive the whole term. This spirit, plus a growing confidence in our abilities was carried into the final match of the season at Brentwood. It was a vital match for them as they needed a win to assure themselves of at least a share of the Independent Schools Championship. But we were not going to allow them to jump to an early lead as they had in - our fixture at Shawnigan and although they again attacked with great verve and determination from the start, we weathered the storm. In the end we drew, each side scoring a try and two penalty goals but for us it became a moral victory as we came from 10-3 down to draw the match and seemed to be getting stronger as the game went on. Furthermore our forwards played their best game of the season and made the vaunted Brentwood pack look more normal. The back row of Emery, Void and Peel were outstanding with Peel, not only scoring our try but being the best player on the field. So although the season ended with the rather dismal record of 2 wins, 7 losses and a draw, our worst record, in more than a decade, it was by no means a weak side. From rather scrambly beginnings we had become as good as any of the other three Independent schools by the end of our season. The team never lost heart and was able to rebound after each loss, and attack the next fixture with enthusiasm and vigour. A great deal of credit for this very fine attitude must go to Darcy Peel, the captain, who not 1 15

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THE FIRST XV Back Row: (L. to R.) Mr. D.W. Hyde-Lay, M. Van Santvoord, S. Void, T. Karouzos, M. Allsopp, S. Hutchinson, S. Evans, P. Schieldrop, J. Spruce Seated: (L. toR.) H. Schuurmans, S. Heffelfinger, R. Emery, D. Peel, R. Donahue, S. Spiropoulos, M. Ferguson The B.C. High Schools ' new Seasons of Play ruling seriously curtailed the number and the quality of matches we were able to play this season. The rule stated that no sport may now be played, and this includes practice matches, for more than 12 weeks in the school year. Faced with this decision all High Schools in the Province switched their senior rugby programs to the so called Spring season which would enable them to be eligible for the play-offs leading to the B.C. High School Rugby Championships held in mid-May. Not being prepared to switch with them and thereby be forced to alter our own spring and summer sports program, we elected, along with the other Independent Schools, to continue playing our rugby during the fall term. We were thus left with our usual Independent Schools fixtures plus any other non-school matches we could arrange. No longer were we able to sort out our teething problems with our customary exhibition games with schools such as Hillside, Magee, Point Grey and so on. A great pity as we have found these games extremely valuable in the past and have also thoroughly enjoyed our association with these schools, all of whom regularly produce very fine school sides. It was very clear from the beginning that we were short on experience and on size. A lot can be done about the former but not much about the latter. As the season wore on we became a much more cohesive side but without our usual early season matches to sort things out, it just took that much longer to arrive at our potentially strongest team, by which time the season was literally half over. Nevertheless we saved our best rugby for the last three or four matches and ended things on a very positive winning note. Our season opened with a fixture against York Mills Collegiate from Ontario who were out in B.C. on a Rugby Tour. Their team was very large and aggressive and proved too much for us so early in the season, winning the match by a 21-1 1 score. Early in the game we had the misfortune to lose, through injury, our captain and most experienced forward and with Darcy Peel ' s departure went any chance we had of competing in anything like level terms in the forwards. Next followed an easy victory over Cowichan U 19 XV by 32-6. Because we scored some rather nice tries, we thought we were better than we were. A rude awakening awaited us at St. Michael ' s University School who ran in five tries in beating us 14

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only had the respect and confidence of his team mates but also developed into a very fine all-round forward, one of the best the school has produced in recent years. He is big and well coordinated and could go a long way in senior rugby if he puts his mind to it. I must also compliment him on his captaincy and leadership both of which were first class. The two flankers, Roland Emery (a converted wing) and Shane Void were very quick on to the loose ball and, being short, or perhaps I should say, not tall, were excellent grovellers for the ball on the ground. In addition Emery was a strong and safe tackier. In the second row, Steven Evans became a real work horse in the engine room. He was usually partnered by Peel or Scott Pahl (in the last two games). Scott is large and well-coordinated and is a fine place kicker but he tends to be too easy going and needs to up his work rate in matches. Matt Allsopp, usually played the number 8 position. He is a tall, lean line out jumper and is quite mobile around the field, but I would like to see him put on a little weight. The two props, always together it seemed, were Harry Schuurmans and Michael Ferguson. At the start of the season both were willing but not too able. However no two props could have worked harder at improving their basic skills and by mid-season both were fixtures on the side because it became evident that nothing (or no one) was going to stop them. Jordy Spruce was the hooker. He is a good athlete being able to handle and kick the ball more like a back. This pack as a unit improved slowly and steadily with each game and by the end of the season could hold their own with anyone. Behind them was Phil Schieldrop at scrum-half. Phil ' s service is good but it needs speeding up and he can be flustered when under the kind of pressure he had to face in a number of games early on in the season. However, because he has now weathered this pressure, he will find life very much easier next year. His half-back partner was Steven Heffelfinger. Steven has a lot of footballing ability but, again under pressure he tends to run across the field and his kicking game becomes erratic. Normally however he has sure hands and is a good kicker of the ball. We were very well served in the centre where Robert Donahue and Demetry Spiropoulos were as sound a pair of tacklers as anyone could wish. They each had their moments in attack too but tended as so many young players do, to run away from the support. On the wings were Terry Karouzos and Stephen Hut- chinson, the former a runner of directness and power and the latter clever and elusive. They both were erratic on defence which finally cost them their place on the team. Michael van Santvoord had a very good season at fullback. He is a fine athlete who handles, kicks and positions himself well. He also has speed and a good eye to exploit an opening or to counter attack. Two other backs deserve mention as they were brought into the side at the tail end of the season. They were Charles Atzesberger who came into the centre when we moved Spiropoulos to fly- half and Graeme Vaux who played on the wing. They both played well and made us regret that we had not tried the switch sooner. With our record it may seem odd to claim that we had an enjoyable season, but I think we did and I am sure that there is not one member of the team who would not willingly start again tomorrow. D.W. Hyde-Lay 1ST XV RECORD Pts Pts For Against P10 W2 L7 Dl 97 141 Sept. 19 v York Mills Collegiate (H) L 11-21 Sept. 15 v Cowichan RFC (under 19) (H) W32-6 Oct. 2 v St. Michael ' s Univ. School (A) L 0-22 Oct. 16 vSt. George ' s (H) L 3-6 Oct. 23 v U. Victoria Jutes (A) L6-14 Nov. 9 v St. Michael ' s Univ. School (H) L 15-17 Nov. 13 v Brentwood (H) L 0-13 Nov. 14 vOld Boys (H) L 7-20 Nov. 20 v St. George ' s (A) W 13-12 Nov. 27 v Brentwood (A) D 10-10