BC Rugby’s 2024 Vancouver Sevens Invitational (VSI) concluded on Friday following two days of action-packed youth Rugby 7s at UBC’s Gerald McGavin Centre.
Taking place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation, the tournament made its return to the BC Rugby calendar for the first time since 2020 and featured over 400 athletes and 30 teams vying for glory across U15 Girls, U16 Boys, U18 Girls and U18 Boys Divisions.
Teams from Vancouver Rugby Union (VRU), Vancouver Island Rugby Union (VIRU Tide), North Vancouver Island Rugby Union (NVIRU Tsunami), Fraser Valley Rugby Union (FVRU), the Thompson-Okanagan Rugby Alliance (TORA), Aurora Wolves Rugby Union (Northern BC), Edmonton Gold, Celtic Barbarians (USA), Washington State (USA), and Nova Scotia competed in a festival-like atmosphere.
Taking place in the week leading up to the 2024 HSBC SVNS Vancouver, the VSI provided a complete Sevens experience for participants, blending competitive gameplay with the opportunity to watch world-class international Rugby competition at BC Place, and bringing together elite youth 7s athletes from across all regions of BC.
Below is a breakdown of each division’s action. BC Rugby will be releasing a full 2023 PRCs photo gallery this week – keep your eyes peeled on our social media channels!
U15 GIRLS
Format: Round robin
Teams: Aurora Wolves, Celtic Barbarians, Edmonton Gold, Fraser Valley Rugby Union, Vancouver Island Tide, North Vancouver Island Tsunami
GOLD MEDAL WINNERS: Vancouver Island Tide
SILVER MEDAL WINNERS: Celtic Barbarians
BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS: North Vancouver Island Tsunami
DAY 2 MATCHES
Vancouver Island Tide took the gold medals with five victories from five matches. Building on three wins from Day 1, the Tide defeated North Vancouver Island Tsunami rivals 26-0 before beating Fraser Valley Rugby Union 32-5 to finish top of the table.
Celtic Barbarians were crowned silver medal winners with four wins and one defeat in five games. The Barbarians defeated Edmonton Gold 15-0 and the Tsunami 12-5 to finish second, while Tsunami took home bronze thanks to their three wins on Day 1.
Aurora Wolves claimed its first win of the tournament with a 17-5 triumph over Edmonton Gold, while Fraser Valley beat the Wolves 14-0 for a second victory of the tournament and fourth place overall.
DAY 1 MATCHES
In a busy Day 1 of Round Robin action, the North Vancouver Island Tsunami and Vancouver Island Tide ran riot with three victories from their respective three matches to end the opening day unbeaten. Celtic Barbarians finished the day with two wins and one defeat, with Fraser Valley Rugby Union taking one victory and two losses. Aurora Wolves and Edmonton Gold ended with three defeats.
Tsunami edged a tight game against Aurora Wolves 15-14 in the first match of the tournament, before following up with a 22-0 victory over Fraser Valley and a 19-12 win over Edmonton Gold.
Tide, meanwhile, opened the day with a 20-7 win over Celtic Barbarians and went on to defeat Edmonton Gold 22-0 and the Aurora Wolves 24-12.
Fraser Valley saw off Edmonton Gold 27-5 before falling 27-7 to the Celtic Barbarians. Barbarians later won 22-7 against Aurora Wolves to close out their first day on a high.
U16 BOYS
Format: Pools into Playoffs
Pool A: Vancouver Island Tide, Vancouver Rugby Union 1, Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2, Edmonton Gold
Pool B: Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1, North Vancouver Island Tsunami, Vancouver Rugby Union 2, Aurora Wolves
GOLD MEDAL WINNERS: Vancouver Island Tide
SILVER MEDAL WINNERS: Edmonton Gold
BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS: Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1
DAY 2 – PLAYOFFS & FINALS
Vancouver Island Tide defeated Edmonton Gold 27-5 in the Championship game to take its second gold medal of the day. Tide had earlier beaten Vancouver Rugby Union 2 24-0 to advance to the gold medal match, while Edmonton beat Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1 19-17 in a tight semi-final.
Earlier on Day 2, Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2 defeated the North Island Tsunami 19-15 to finish 5th overall. Vancouver Rugby Union 1 beat Aurora Wolves 39-0 to finish seventh, with the Wolves ending their maiden tournament in eighth place.
DAY 1 – POOL MATCHES
The Vancouver Island Tide and Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1 topped their respective Pools with three wins each, while Edmonton Gold and Vancouver Rugby Union 2 also advanced to the semi-finals with two wins apiece.
POOL A: Tide enjoyed shutout wins against Vancouver Rugby Union 1 (24-0) and Edmonton Gold (10-0), before closing out with a 14-10 triumph over Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2. Edmonton opened with a 12-10 win against Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2, and closed out with a 19-14 win against Vancouver Rugby Union 1 to advance.
Also in Pool A, Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2 defeated Vancouver Rugby Union 1 24-7.
POOL B: Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1 defeated the North Vancouver Island Tsunami 17-10 and Vancouver Rugby Union 2 17-15, before rounding off their day with a 39-0 win over Aurora Wolves. Vancouver Rugby Union 2 scored a 24-0 win against Aurora Wolves, before ending the day with a 17-14 win against the Tsunami.
Also in Pool B, Tsunami defeated Aurora Wolves 24-5.
U18 GIRLS
Format: Pools into Playoffs/Round Robin
Pool A: Fraser Valley Rugby Union, Vancouver Island Tide, Washington, Celtic Barbarians
Pool B: Aurora Wolves, Nova Scotia, North Vancouver Island Tsunami, BC Elite
GOLD MEDAL WINNERS: Fraser Valley Rugby Union
SILVER MEDAL WINNERS: Vancouver Island Tide
BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS: Rugby Nova Scotia
DAY 2 – PLAYOFFS & FINALS
Fraser Valley Rugby Union produced a big performance to defeat Vancouver Island Tide 22-14 in the Championship match. The Valley defeated North Vancouver Island Tsunami 40-5 to reach the final, while the Tide edged a tight 15-10 encounter with Nova Scotia Keltics to advance.
The Keltics defeated Tsunami 15-0 to take the bronze medal back east.
Elsewhere on Day 2, the Celtic Barbarians beat the Aurora Wolves 34-0 while Washington Academy of Rugby defeated both Barbarians and Wolves to end their tournament on a high.
DAY 1 – POOL MATCHES
Fraser Valley Rugby Union and Nova Scotia Keltics remained unbeaten with three victories each to advance to the semi-finals as top seeds, while the Vancouver Island Tide scored two wins and one defeat on Day 1 to book its semi-final spot. The North Vancouver Island Tsunami rounded off the top four with one win, one defeat and one draw.
POOL A: Fraser Valley defeated the Celtic Barbarians 31-5 and Washington Academy of Rugby 57-0 before coming through a close encounter with the Tide 10-5. The Tide won its opening two matches against Washington (24-5) and Celtic Barbarians (32-0) before falling to the Valley.
Also in Pool A, Barbarians defeated Washington 12-5 in their final game of the day.
POOL B: Nova Scotia Keltics beat the Tsunami 10-7 and the BC Elite U16s 24-7, before rounding off Thursday with a 35-5 win against Aurora Wolves. Tsunami, meanwhile, bounced back from defeat against Nova Scotia with a 20-10 win against Aurora Wolves, before ending the day with a 5-5 tie against BC Elite U16s.
Also in Pool B, the BC Elite U16s defeated Aurora Wolves 20-7 in the division’s opening match.
U18 BOYS
Format: Pools into Playoffs
Pool A: Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1, Vancouver Rugby Union 1, TORA, North Vancouver Island Tsunami
Pool B: Vancouver Island Tide, Nova Scotia, Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2, Vancouver Rugby Union 2
GOLD MEDAL WINNERS: North Vancouver Island Tsunami
SILVER MEDAL WINNERS: Vancouver Rugby Union 1
BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS: Vancouver Island Tide
DAY 2 – PLAYOFF & FINALS
The North Vancouver Island Tsunami scored with the final play of the match to claim the gold medals with a 24-19 win against Vancouver Rugby Union 1. Earlier, the Tsunami toppled Vancouver Rugby Union 2 17-5 in the semi-final while Vancouver Rugby Union 1 beat the Vancouver Island Tide 17-14 to advance. The Tide bounced back in the bronze medal game to beat Vancouver Rugby Union 2 19-7.
Elsewhere, Fraser Valley Rugby Union 2 saw off Nova Scotia Keltics 41-12 to finish seventh, while TORA edged Fraser Valley Rugby Union 1 17-14 to finish fifth overall.
DAY 1 – POOL MATCHES
The Vancouver Island Tide booked a semi-final spot with three wins from their opening three games, with their North Vancouver Island Tsunami rivals also advancing to the final four with two wins and one draw.
Both Vancouver Rugby Union 1 and Vancouver Rugby Union 2 completed the semi-final line-up; VRU 1 advanced with two wins and one draw, with VRU2 picking up two wins and losing once.
POOL A: Tsunami drew 7-7 with Vancouver Rugby Union 1 before following up with 26-7 and 38-0 wins respectively against Fraser Valley 1 and TORA. Vancouver Rugby Union 1 followed up their draw with a 14-5 win against TORA and a 36-0 win against Fraser Valley 1. However, Tsunami advanced as top seeds with a larger points difference.
Also in Pool A, TORA defeated Fraser Valley 1 17-10.
POOL B: The Vancouver Island Tide defeated Fraser Valley 2 36-5 and Vancouver Rugby Union 2 12-7, before seeing off Nova Scotia Keltics 32-0. Vancouver Rugby Union 2 bookended defeat against Tide with a 37-7 win against Nova Scotia and 29-10 win over Fraser Valley 2.
Also in Pool B, Fraser Valley 2 scored a 24-7 win against Nova Scotia.
THANK YOU!
BC Rugby would like to thank all groups and individuals who made this event possible: to our Match Officials, Coaching Staff, Therapists and Medics, Players, parents, volunteers and vendors – thank you for your hard work and commitment in helping grow the game throughout the province.
To Rugby Canada legends Nathan Hirayama, Connor Braid and Harry Jones for presenting medals, alongside BC Rugby CEO David Newson and BC Rugby Board of Directors Theresa Weeks, Connie McGinley, Marvin Foss, and Brennan Bastovanszky.
To official event photographer Shelly Fey for her contribution over the weekend.
To our sponsors and partners for their commitment in helping grow our sport: Onni Group, O’Neills, belairdirect home Insurance, Gilbert Rugby Canada, and Blonyx.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Province of British Columbia.
BC Rugby
A: 2015 Main Street, Vancouver, BC | V5T 0J8
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E: info@bcrugby.com
BC Rugby gratefully acknowledges that its offices reside on the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
