June 3, 2016 Klahanie Park, West

Canadian Direct Insurance BC Bears vs England Counties Kickoff at 7:00pm

Women’s Rugby curtain-raiser Ruth Hellerud-Brown Cup Final vs Vancouver Island Crimson Tide Kickoff at 5:30pm presents:

Vancouver Wave Vancouver Island Crimson Tide Canadian Direct Insurance BC Bears England Counties 1 Carolyn McEwen (UBC/Burnaby Lake) 1. Tiffany Picketts (UVic Vikes) 1. Anthony Luca – c (Burnaby Lake RC) 1. Trevor Davison ( Durham and Blaydon) 2 Allison MacCormack 2. Brittany Sims (Westshore RFC) 2. Micha Govorchin (Burnaby Lake RC) 2. Matt Cornish (Surrey and London Irish Wild Geese) 3 Hilary Leith (Capilano RFC) 3. Chelsey Minter (Westshore RFC) 3. Ryan Ackerman (Burnaby Lake RC) 3. Elliott Millar-Mills (Cheshire and Macclesfield) 4 Demi Stamatakis (SFU) 4. Melissa Sims (Westshore RFC) 4. Sam Clark (UBC Thunderbirds) 4. Dan Williams (Devon and Torquay) 5 Emily VanGulik (Burnaby Lake) 5. Shannon Fitzpatrick (Westshore RFC) 5. Liam Chisholm (UVic Vikes) 5. Rob Conquest (Hertfordshire and Darlington Mowden Park) 6 Louisa Hadley (UBC/Capilano) 6. Marlene Nedved (Castaway Wanderers RC) 6. Brendan Kelliher (Castaway Wanderers) 6. Keith Laughlin – c (Northumberland and Blaydon) 7 Gillian Boag (UBC Thunderbirds) 7. Tyson Beukeboom (Cowichan) 7. Alex Boyd (Capilano RFC) 7. Nyle Davidson (Durham and Blaydon) 8 Katie Grudzinski (Burnaby Lake RC) 8. Barbara Mervin (Westshore RFC) 8. Taitusi Vikilani (Burnaby Lake RC) 8. Ryan Parkinson (Cheshire and Macclesfield) 9 Christina Burnham (SFU) 9. Jess Neilson (Castaway Wanderers RC) 9. Chris Robinson (Capilano RFC) 9. Tom Banks (Hertfordshire and Bishop's Stortford) 10 Annabel Arnott (UBC/Burnaby Lake) 10. Meg Howat (Westshore RFC) 10. James Reekie (Burnaby Lake RC) 10. Freddie Gabbitass (Kent and Blackheath) 11 Camilla Maslo (Brit Lions RC) 11. Brittany Waters (Castaway Wanderers RC) 11. Cully Quirke (UBC Thunderbirds) 11. Leo Fielding (Gloucestershire and Blackheath) 12 Elijah Lacap (SFU) 12. Courtney Sims (Westshore RFC) 12. Doug Fraser (UVic Vikes) 12. Chris May (Hertfordshire and Old Albanians) 13 Kaitlyn Cumming (Kamloops Raiders) 13. Sya Trafford (Castaway Wanderers RC) 13. Joe Dolesau (Burnaby Lake RC) 13. Sam Winter (Hertfordshire and Bishops's Stortford) 14 Erica Dickson (Meraloma RC) 14. Katie McNally (Castaway Wanderers RC) 14. Crosby Stewart (UVic Vikes) 14. Sam Baker (Gloucestershire and Cinderford) 15 Danielle Fearns (Kelowna Crows) 15. Lisa Gauthier (Westshore RFC) 15. Gareth Marsden (Burnaby Lake RC) 15. Matt Shepherd (Plymouth Albion and Cornwall)

Reserves Reserves Reserves Reserves

16 Robyn Chrosciewicz (Bayside Sharks) Angie Davies (Cowichan Piggies) 16. Andrew Lackner (Burnaby Lake RC) 16. Dan Seal (East Midlands and Cambridge) 17 Melissa Robinson (Capilano RFC) Aimee Burley (Comox Valley Kickers) 17. Ryan March (Abbotsford RFC) 17. Matt Miles (Hertfordshire and Old Albanians) 18 Nicola Jones (Capilano RFC) Rebecca Saari (Cowichan Piggies) 18. Tom Cowan-Dickie (Cornwall and Redruth) 19 Jessica Piotrowski (SFU) Erica Shaw (Castaway Wanderers RC) 19. Ollie Nott (Uvic Vikes) 19. Ian Kench (Surrey and Esher) 20 Beatrice Collier-Pandya (Meraloma RC) Daris Tendlor (Comox Valley Kickers) 20. Lee Helm (Abbotsford RFC) 20. David Fairbrother (Lancashire and Fylde) 21 Suhad Mardikian (Capilano RFC Lauren Sargeant (Castaway Wanderers RC) 21. Cody Rockson (Burnaby Lake RC) 21. Jack Walsh (Kent and Blackheath) 22 Miriam Sobrino (Bayside Sharks) 22. Geoff Ryan (Burnaby Lake RC) 22. James Stokes (Eastern Counties and Coventry) 23 Genevieve Gratton (Burnaby Lake RC) 23. Chris Chalmers (Abbotsford RFC) 23. Joe Tarrant (Eastern Counties and Ampthill) 24 Hedieh Hajesmael (Burnaby Lake RC) 25 Natasha LaLonde (SFU) Coach: Gabriel Fulcher 26 Crystal (Pixie) Nikolai (SFU) Scrum Coach: Angel Cividanes Team Manager: Matt Long 27 Alya Govorchin (Castaway Wanderers RC) Attack Coach: Tony LaCarte Assistant Team Manager: Simon Legg General Manager: Mike James Lead Coach: James Shanahan Coaches: Walt Brandl, Corinne Jacobsen Coach: Charlotte Haley Forwards Coach: Chris Wilkins Manger: Erin Agostini Referee - Dave Smortchevsky Referee - Chris Assmus AR1 - Harry Mason AR 1 - Brett Hay AR2 - Chris Assmus AR 2 - Toby Mustill Sub Controller - Toby Mustill Scorekeeper - Saro Turner

The Canadian Direct Insurance BC Bears host touring side England Counties on June 3rd at Klahanie Park (Capilano RFC) in West Vancouver. Kickoff is at 7:00pm.

The England Counties clash promises to be a demanding warm-up game for the BC players, many of whom have played together with their respective BC Rugby Clubs, but who will be competing together as a unit for the first time on June 3rd.

"This will a benchmark game for us against very meaningful competition," said BC Bears Coach, Gabriel Fulcher. "We're still at the beginning of the process of getting our players ready for the CRC (Canadian Rugby Championship) season, and lining up against a quality England Counties side will serve us well in that effort. I'll be challenging our players to show a positive attitude and mentality in this game, and look forward to seeing how they respond to the pace and physicality. The style of play in the CRC is based on dry, hard field conditions, so in anticipation of that I'll be encouraging our players to keep ball in hand and attack, which should make for exciting rugby."

Burnaby Lake Rugby Club forward Anthony Luca has been named BC Bears' Captain. “It is an honour to Captain the BC Bears,” said Luca. “Being captain of one of the four major rugby provinces is something I would like to look at as a job and bring my work ethic from both my life and my club rugby into doing the best job I can. We have a good contingent of returning players and young players wanting to step up. In just a few short sessions I feel we have communicated and worked well as a group, and believe this could be a great CRC season for us.”

The Bears will need to bring a balanced attack to their game this season, where in previous years they may have been overly reliant on the pace of their backs. The Bears forwards will be especially tested by a group of big English forwards on Friday, as the tourists are well adapted to a physical game in the middle.

"We’re all looking forward to what promises to be a great tour," said England Counties Manager, Matt Long. "We’re confident in the squad of players we have as well as our coaching team. To pull on the England shirt is great honour, especially for those on the tour who have yet to play for England Counties, and we’re excited to welcome some new players to the squad.” England Counties is the flagship team of the Community Game in England and offers players from National League One and below the opportunity to represent their country.

England Counties topped the BC Bears in their last meeting back in 2010.

In the weeks following the the June 3rd England Counties match, the BC Bears will begin their quest for the MacTier Cup. The Bears last claimed the trophy, awarded to the top team in the CRC, in 2009. The shortened 2015 CRC campaign season saw them defeat the , but fall to the , resulting in a third place finish. In order to better that result this year, the Bears will need a bright start, as they begin with an away engagement against the defending champion Prairie Wolf Pack in on July 1, before returning for a rematch on home soil in Victoria on July 9. The Bears conclude the 2016 CRC campaign with away fixtures against the Atlantic Rock in St. John’s, NL, on July 21, followed by the Blues in on July 24.