RUGBY Tim Murdy — Director of Sport, Director of Rugby, 1st XV Coach

Director of Sport Tim Murdy brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to Shawnigan.

Mr. Murdy was the Head Coach of Rugby ’s U17, U19, U20, U21 and Development Teams, in addition to serving as the Assistant Head Coach of the Senior Men’s Team. His teams have represented Canada in five Championships. Mr. Murdy has coached Canadian National teams to victory against Wales, Ireland, Uruguay, United States, Italy and Fiji.

At the high school level, Mr. Murdy has coached teams to 14 B.C. rugby provincial championships and was named the B.C. School Sports Coach of the Year in 2004. Since joining Shawnigan, he has led the School’s rugby program to three National CAIS Championships and has won eight B.C. provincial championships in the past nine years.

Shannon Atkins — Girls XV Coach

Shannon Atkins coached rugby for 24 years in Prince Edward Island. She is a Level 3 NCCP coach who has coached at various levels, including high school, U18, U20, Senior Provincial and CRC Team Atlantic.

For the last six seasons, Ms. Atkins was the head coach of the University of PEI Women’s Varsity Rugby Team. In 2016, her players won multiple awards including Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Rookie of the year, three AUS All Stars and two CIS All-Canadians.

As a player, Shannon represented PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick at the National Championships. While playing for the UPEI Panthers, she was a three-time AUS All-Star, three-time CIS Academic All-Canadian, two-time CIS All-Canadian and AUS MVP.

Shannon believes rugby is an empowering sport for young women that makes them strong physically, but, more importantly, socially and mentally.

Ander Monro — Colts XV Head Coach

Ander Monro played professional rugby in Scotland and Italy, and later represented Canada in two tournaments. He made 30 appearances with the national team and was named Team Captain for a match against Russia.

Mr. Monro’s coaching experience spans all ages and levels. For the past two years, he has served as the assistant coach of Canada’s U18 squad, leading the team on tours through Romania and Ireland.

At Shawnigan, Mr. Monro coaches all grades. He has led the Colts teams to many successes, including capturing the inaugural Junior XV Provincial Championships in 2016 and 2017. Laura Russell — Girls XV Coach

Laura Russell was a two-time CIS all-star while playing at the University of Western Ontario. She represented Canada as part of the U19 and U20 junior national program.

Since then, Ms. Russell has become a key player on the senior national team, earning her first cap in 2011, finishing second place at the 2014 Rugby World Cup, and being named ’s 2016 Player of the Year. In 2017, she represented her country at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, leading Canada to an impressive 5th place finish. In addition to playing, she also serves as the assistant coach at the University of Victoria.

Ms. Russell has coached at Shawnigan for four years. In 2016, she led her team to a AA provincial championship and a CAIS national championship.

Jeff Williams — st1 XV Assistant Coach

Jeff Williams brings 20 years of coaching experience to Shawnigan.

After beginning his coaching career at Mount Douglas High School, Mr. Williams has gone on to work with the B.C. Senior Women, B.C. U16 and University of Victoria U19 teams. For three seasons he served as the BC U18 Head Coach, winning back-to-back national championships in 2011 and 2012.

Mr. Williams has worked with Canada’s national rugby program since 2002. His resumé includes coaching the U18 Sevens, U21 and Men’s Sevens teams. He has also worked with the Senior Women’s Sevens and XV teams as a guest coach. Since 2014, he has served as the Head Coach of the Canada U20 program.

Program Staff

Boys 1st XV Tim Murdy, Director of Rugby, Head Coach Andrew Doyle, Coach Jeff Williams, Coach

Girls 1st XV Shannon Atkins, Coach Laura Russell, Coach Dani Robb, Coach

Boys 2nd XV Graham Linn, Coach Justin Wilke ’98, Coach

Colts A Ander Monro, Head Coach Wes Plater ’97, Coach

Colts B Remi Anctil, Coach Matt Clinton-Baker, Coach David Chant, Coach

Grade 9 Ander Monro, Coach Graham Linn, Coach

Grade 8 Andrew Doyle, Coach Wes Plater ’97, Coach