The BC Bears U19 Men finished second while the BC Bears U19 Women finished fourth at the 2024 Canadian U19 Rugby Championships following a big week of action in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Competing four gruelling matches within a week, the BC Bears U19 Men returned home with the silver medals after narrowly losing out to Rugby Ontario in the Championship decider. The Men won their opening three matches before losing out 17-10 to Ontario Blues in Sunday’s final match.
The BC Bears U19 Women finished fourth alongside Rugby Quebec, with three defeats and one draw from their campaign, as Rugby Ontario clinched the Women’s title for a historic double.
All BC match results and match videos are listed below. All games from the tournament can be found on the Maritime Athletic Profiles YouTube Page here.
BC BEARS U19 MEN’S RESULTS
Led by Head Coach Greg Clague (Westshore RFC) and Assistant Coaches Dan Haynes (UBCO Heat) and Noah Pryce-Baff (Kats RFC), the BC Bears U19 Men aimed to regain the National Championship they won in 2022 and faced tough opposition in the Atlantic Rock, Alberta Wolfpack, Rugby Ontario and Rugby Quebec.
Below is the BC Bears U19 Men’s Results:
- July 30: BC Bears 36-0 Alberta Wolfpack – Watch Match
- August 1: BC Bears 36-5 Atlantic Rock – Watch Match
- August 3: BC Bears 58-7 Rugby Quebec – Watch Match
- August 4: BC Bears 10-17 Rugby Ontario – Watch Match
BC BEARS U19 MEN 10-17 RUGBY ONTARIO U19 MEN
The BC Bears U19 Men narrowly missed out on the 2024 Canadian U19 Rugby Championship title after a 17-10 defeat to Rugby Ontario.
With both teams going into Sunday’s Championship decider with three wins from their opening three matches, all eyes were on who would leave Wolfville, Nova Scotia with the gold medals.
Playing in improvised change shirts, the Bears started strongly with Spencer Cotie (Castaway Wanderers) finishing off a slick move for BC’s opening try inside five minutes. Cotie scored his and BC’s second try of the match after quick work following a nearside lineout. Ty Driscoll (Pacific Pride) failed with both conversions as BC led 10-0 within the opening 10 minutes.
However, Rugby Ontario fought back with a converted try from a pick-and-go short of the BC line to reduce the deficit to 10-7 at half-time.
Ontario levelled the scores with a well-taken penalty 10 minutes into the second half, while their defence held strong to keep out a flurry of BC attacks. However, with 8 minutes to go, Ontario broke BC hearts with a slick try ensuring the Championship stayed east for another year at least.
BC BEARS U19 MEN 58-7 RUGBY QUEBEC U19 MEN
The BC Bears U19 Men put themselves in pole position at the 2024 CRCs with a crushing 58-7 win over Rugby Quebec.
Cameron Maher (Port Alberni) scored the opening try within 2 minutes after Josh Petrov (UVIC Vikes) charged down a Quebec kick. Fullback Jonty Nicholas (Salish Sea Warriors) doubled the Bears lead to 10-0 a minute later after latching on to his own kick.
BC were 15-0 within 5 minutes after Ty Driscoll (Pacific Pride) finished off a nice quick move from the ruck, before Alex Muir (UBCOB Ravens) added a fourth under the posts with Driscoll converting for a 22-0 lead.
Driscoll set up Hudson Poppitt (Westshore RFC) for BC’s fifth with an excellent long pass, before Petrov crossed over for BC’s sixth try in the opening half after more slick breakdown play. Driscoll converted for 34-0 lead at half-time.
Quebec started well with a converted try from the lineout in the opening stages of the second half, before BC responded with a glut of tries. Muir scored his second try of the match under the posts, with Driscoll converting, before Petrov notched his second with a smart run to make it 46-7.
Muir completed his second hat-trick of the tournament after finishing a chaotic move on the far side, before Liam Turnbull (UBCOB Ravens) scored the final try of the match following a fantastic line break. Driscoll added the extras as BC ran out 58-7 winners.
BC BEARS U19 MEN 36-5 ATLANTIC ROCK U19 MEN
The BC Bears U19 Men secured their second win of their 2024 CRCs campaign with a 36-5 win over the Atlantic Rock.
Rock scored the first try of the match after a grubber kick split the Bears defence, but the Bears responded when Noah Kynaston (Pacific Pride) finished following a strong spell of pressure from the BC side.
Alex Muir (UBCOB Ravens) continued his fine form with his fourth try in two games to inch the Bears ahead, following a great run from Spencer Codie (Castaway Wanderers). Ty Driscoll (Pacific Pride) converted to move the Bears 12-5 ahead. Codie got himself on the scoresheet to after the wing finished off a flowing cross-field move to improve BC’s advantage to 17-5 shortly before half time.
Liam Turnbull (UBCOB Ravens) scored BC’s fourth try of the game with a strong carry following a maul deep in Rock territory. Driscoll added the extras as the Bears moved into a 24-5 lead.
The Rock began to exert pressure but the Bears defence stood firm, before Codie sprinted through the middle to set up Driscoll for try number five and a 29-5 lead. Despite late pressure from the home side, the Bears added a sixth try late on from Annan McAllister (Castaway Wanderers) that was converted by Matthew Bennett (UVIC Vikes) for a big win.
BC BEARS U19 MEN 36-0 ALBERTA WOLFPACK U19 MEN
The BC Bears U19 Men kicked off their 2024 CRCs campaign with a 36-0 win over the Alberta Wolfpack U19 Men.
The Bears dominated early proceedings with Alex Muir (UBCOB Ravens) scoring a hat-trick inside the first 15 minutes after some impressive BC attacking play and big runs. Zander Payne (Westshore RFC) crossed for BC’s fourth try of the first half following brilliant work from Charlie Huntingford (Capilano RFC) in the middle of the field. Two successful conversions from Ty Driscoll (Pacific Pride) gave the Bears a 24-0 lead at half time, with the BC defence staving off late pressure from the Wolfpack.
Brighton Feldman (Westshore RFC) added a fifth try shortly into the second half, with Driscoll again adding the extras for a 31-0 lead. Mitchell Buie (Westshore RFC) crossed for BC’s sixth and final try to make it 36-0 as the Bears defence once again held firm to deny the Wolfpack any gloss on the scoreline.
BC BEARS U19 WOMEN’S SCHEDULE
The BC Bears U19 Women, led by Julia Sugawara (TWU Spartans/Burnaby Lake RFC) and Matt Fraser (Meraloma RFC), looked to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish against Atlantic Selects, Alberta Wolfpack, Rugby Ontario and Rugby Quebec.
Below is the BC Bears U19 Women’s Results and Match Videos:
- July 30: BC Bears 10-27 Alberta Wolfpack – Watch Match
- August 1: BC Bears 0-36 Atlantic Selects – Watch Match
- August 3: BC Bears 10-10 Rugby Quebec – Watch Match
- August 4: BC Bears 0-33 Rugby Ontario – Watch Match
BC BEARS U19 WOMEN 0-33 RUGBY ONTARIO U19 WOMEN
The BC Bears U19 Women fell to a 33-0 defeat to Rugby Ontario Blues in their final match of the 2024 Canadian U19 Rugby Championships.
After a tough campaign in Nova Scotia, the Bears were looking to end on a high after amassing one draw and two defeats in their previous matches.
However, the Bears were put to the sword by a well-drilled Ontario side that finished the tournament unbeaten across both Men’s and Women’s Divisions.
Ontario edged over the line for their first try on the 10-minute mark, which was converted for a 7-0 lead. The Blues doubled their lead through Sarah Fielding’s powerful try and another converted kick for a 14-0 lead at 20 minutes. A third converted Ontario try followed with a smart offload from a tap-and-go penalty as Ontario led 21-0 at the break.
The Bears defence stepped up in the second half before Ontario finally broke through in the 48th minute to score their fourth try, and Fielding’s second, of the match. The conversion was good for 28-0 before a fifth Ontario try late on ensured the Blues completed a Championship double.
BC BEARS U19 WOMEN 10-10 RUGBY QUEBEC U19 WOMEN
The BC Bears U19 Women got their first point of the 2024 CRCs with a thrilling 10-10 draw against Rugby Quebec.
In an intense first half, neither side could find the opener as both the Bears and Quebec defences stood firm against their attacking counterparts.
Quebec scored the opening try of the match shortly after the restart when their captain, Canada U20 athlete Sierra Hasse, acted quickly with a pick-and-go across the try line.
Gwen King (Castaway Wanderers) scored the Bears’ first try of the Championships with a smart run, splitting through the defence following good work from the scrum in front of the Quebec posts.
King was shown a yellow card as BC had to negotiate the final 10 minutes with 14 players. Hannah Kennedy (Langley Rugby Club) thought she had won it in the dying minutes as the BC lock crashed through Quebec tackles to ground the ball for BC’s second try of the match.
However, Quebec levelled with the final play of the match as Hasse took advantage of a tap-and-go penalty to race clear and score in the corner.
BC BEARS U19 WOMEN 0-36 ATLANTIC SELECTS U19 WOMEN
The BC Bears U19 Women fell 36-0 to a strong Atlantic Selects side on Match Day 2 of the 2024 CRCs.
Despite early pressure from the Bears, it was the Selects that scored the opening try from a good move against the run of play. Atlantic doubled their lead on the 20-minute mark with a smart pick-and-go from the breakdown, which was converted for a 12-0 advantage.
The Selects extended their lead to 17-0 after their fly-half capitalised with a quick-tap penalty to catch the Bears defence cold.
The Atlantic team successfully continued their pick-and-go game with a fourth try early in the second half, which was converted for 24-0. A fifth try followed shortly after another big run from the Selects wing, which was converted for 31-0.
Try number six once again came from the pick-and-go as the Atlantic pack remained dominant in the second half to claim a 36-0 win.
BC BEARS U19 WOMEN 10-27 ALBERTA WOLFPACK U19 WOMEN
The BC Bears U19 Women’s 2024 CRCs campaign kicked off with a battling 27-10 defeat to the Alberta Wolfpack U19 Women.
After a tight opening 12 minutes, the Wolfpack capitalised with a successful penalty to inch into a 3-0 lead. Some great defensive play from the Bears kept Alberta at bay for much of the first half, but the Wolfpack finally broke through the line in the 21st minute to cross over on the far side of the pitch for an 8-0 lead.
The Wolfpack extended their lead to 13-0 following quick ball to find the overlap as they scored a second try shortly before the interval.
The Wolfpack started strongly in the second half as they converted two further tries to move 27-0 ahead, but the Bears never gave up. Their hard work eventually paid off as Sophia Julien (Comox Valley Kickers) finished a beautifully worked try across the pitch for a muchly deserved score, before Adelaide Oldfield (Burnaby Lake RFC) crossed over with the final play of the match.
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