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Vanier Towhees defending rugby 7s title this weekend

 

The GP. Vanier Towhees will be looking to defend their title at the BCSSRU Sevens championship this weekend (April 16-17) at St. George's School in Vancouver.

Eighteen teams (both AAA and AA) will compete for the 19th annual BC Secondary Schools’ Rugby Union Sevens championship. Vanier defeated St. George's 27-17 in last year's Cup final.

This year they are in Pool B along with Semiahmoo and Glenlyon Norfolk and will kick off the tourney Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Glenlyon Norfolk. Day one will consist of pool matches played to determine who goes through to the Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield competitions. The Cup final is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Head coach of the BC Elite Youth Sevens program, Shane Thompson, will be at this weekend’s tournament scouting talent for the upcoming 2011 BC Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops.

“Being able to identify sevens athletes in a competitive environment will be a huge advantage for our program,” Thompson said. “We are hoping for unknowns to step up and display their abilities. This tournament will be crucial to our identification process for the upcoming 2011/2012 rugby season.”

Canada’s future Olympians could very well be on display at this weekend’s tournament: nine of the recent 12 players to represent Canada in the IRB Sevens World Series were developed in the British Columbia rugby system.

sports@comoxvalleyrecord.com