Blog Posts - THE DOG RIVER HOWLERS RUGBY CLUB

2 HOWLERS NAMED TO CANADIAN NATIONAL MEN'S 7'S TEAM TO COMPETE IN NACRA 7'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT

6/9/2015

Howlers Mike Fuailefau and Jeff Hassler will be part of Canada's National Team that will hope to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics this weened in the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association championship Olympic Qualifying Tournament being played in Cary , North Carolina. OH CANADA AND HOWUUUUUUU !!!!!

All games can be watched LIVE at www.usarugbytv.com

Canada’s Roster for NACRA Sevens - (Club), Hometown, Province

Tyler Ardron – (Ospreys) Lakefield, ON
Connor Braid - (London Scottish/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Justin Douglas - (Abbotsford RFC/BC Bears) Abbotsford, BC
Sean Duke - (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
HOWLER - Mike Fuailefau - (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
HOWLER - Jeff Hassler – (Ospreys) Calgary, AB
Ciaran Hearn - (Castaway Wanderers/Atlantic Rock) Conception Bay South, NL
Nathan Hirayama - (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Harry Jones - (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) North Vancouver, BC
Phil Mack - (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
John Moonlight - Captain (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON
Taylor Paris – (Agen) Barrie, ON
Conor Trainor - (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Adam Zaruba - (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

Senior Men’s Team Staff:

Liam Middleton – Head Coach
Kieran Crowley – Assistant Coach
Brian Hunter – Manager
Danielle Mah – Physiotherapist
Calum Ramsay – Performance Analyst
Gareth Lynch – Strength and Conditioning Coach

2 HOWLERS ON COLOMBIAN NATIONAL WOMEN'S 7'S TEAM THAT QUALIFIED FOR THE 2016 RIO OLYMPICS

6/8/2015

Howlers Isabel Romero Benitez (18 years old) along with team captain Alejandra Betancur helped lead Colombia to a 12-7 victory over Argentina in the South American Rugby 7's Championship to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janairo Brazil.They will also be part of the Pan Am Games being held in Toronto, Canada in July 2015. Congratulations and HOWUUUUUUUUU !!

HOWLERS WADE LAVALLEE SELECTED TO PLAY FOR TEMUKA COUNTY IN NEW ZEALAND

6/6/2015

Wade will play for Temeka County against Temeka Town which will also act as a trial for the South Canterbury Heartland squad. HOWUUUUU !!

7 HOWLERS SELECTED TO CANADIAN WOMEN'S 15'S NATIONAL TEAM PLAYING IN THE 2015 SUPER RUGBY SERIES AGAINST NEW ZEALAND, ENGLAND AND THE USA

6/4/2015

Howlers Gillian Allan, Julia Folk, Lori Josephson, Cindy Nelles, Maria Samson, Natasha Smith and Amanda Thornborough have been named to the Rugby Canada squad for this summer’s Women’s Super Series in Alberta.

Canada will face New Zealand, the USA and England over the course of the Super Series with games taking place in Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton. All four teams are currently ranked in the top six world rankings.

Congratulations to all . Oh Canada and Howuuuuuu !!!

Canada’s roster for the 2015 Women’s Super Series:
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HOWLER - Gillian Allen, (Kirin) Saskatoon, SK
Tyson Beukeboom, (Aurora Barbarians) Uxbridge, ON
Layota Blackwood, (St. Anne de Bellevue) Montreal, QC
Andrea Burk, (Capilano RFC) North Vancouver, BC
Olivia DeMerchant, (Woodstock Wildmen) Mapledale, NB
HOWER - Julia Folk, (Regina Rogues), Regina, SK
Lisa Gauthier, (St-Anne de Bellevue), St-Bernardino, ON
Chelsea Guthrie, (Stratchona Druids) Edmonton, AB
HOWLER - Lori Josephson, (Aurora Barbarians) Beaverton, ON
Mary-Jane Kirby, (Highland RFC) Brampton, ON
Carolyn McEwan (Yeomen Lions RFC), Newmarket, ON
Katie McNally (Velox Valkries) Guelph, ON
DaLeaka Menin, (Hornets) Vulcan, AB
Barbara Mervin, (Velox RFC) Peterborough, ON
Jacey Murphy, (Aurora Barbarians) Alliston, ON
Jess Neilson, (Meraloma) Vancouver, BC
HOWLER - Cindy Nelles, (Belleville Bulldogs) Belleville, ON
Tiffany Picketts (UVIC VIKES/ Abbotsford Rugby Club), Abbotsford, BC
Camile Provencal-Aube, (Abénakis et CRQ) Sherbrooke, QB
Laura Russell, (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON
HOWLER-Maria Samson, (Calgary Hornets) Calgary, AB
HOWLER - Natasha Smith, (Barrhaven Scottish) Ottawa, ON
Emma Taylor,
Alex Tessier, (Montreal Barbarians) Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, QB
HOWLER - Amanda Thornborough, (Brandon Barbarians RFC) Brandon, MB
Brittany Waters, (Meraloma Athletic Club) Vancouver, BC
Julianne Zussman, (Town of Mount Royal RFC) Montreal, QC

Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Francois Ratier
Forwards Coach: Shaun Allen
Backs Coach: Colette McAuley
Scrum Coach: Gary Dukelow (West) John Lavery (East)
Manager: Meaghan Howat

Women’s Rugby Super Series Schedule:

June 27 – Calgary, AB
Calgary Rugby Park

Game 1: USA vs. England
Kick Off: 4:00pm MT

Game 2: Canada vs. New Zealand
Kick Off: 6:30pm MT

July 1 – Red Deer, AB
Red Deer Rugby Club

Game 1: New Zealand vs. England
Kick Off: 4:00pm MT

Game 2: Canada vs. USA
Kick Off: 6:30pm MT

July 5 – Edmonton, AB
Ellerslie Rugby Park

Game 1: New Zealand vs. USA
Kick Off: 4:00pm MT

Game 2: Canada vs. England
Kick Off: 6:30pm MT

HOWLERS ANNOUNCE A SCHOLARSHIP TO SHAWNIGAN LAKE SCHOOL (CANADA) IS BEING SET UP FOR A YOUNG COLOMBIAN FROM ONE OF THE POOR MEDELLIN BARRIOS

5/28/2015

The December 2014 Howlers U-18 tour to Colombia witnessed the creation of an idea for a scholarship. During the event known as “tercer tiempo” (‘third time’ or after tournament social), a group of Howlers management and supporters got together with some of the representatives of the Antioquia Rugby Federation to enjoy some of the country renowned rum. The ensuing conversation could prove to hold a lasting legacy.

Andrew Purdey (parent of Howlers player Seth Purdey and student at Shawnigan Lake School) offered to fund a scholarship (valued at at about $50,00) to one worthy and qualified Colombian youngster from one Medellin’s poor neighbourhoods to attended one of Canada’s most prestigious private schools in Canada (Shawnigan Lake School) that boasts quality rugby and academic programs.

This life changing opportunity brought immediate excitement, which initially masked the obvious challenges for someone to take advantage of this opportunity. The largest being that of speaking English .

All students in public schools in Medellin study English throughout their education and it was initially thought that this would not be an issue.

In due course it became obvious that English skills that the initial candidate possessed would not be adequate for him to attend this school .This was cause for a further re-evaluation.

Recognizing the need for an adequate level of English linguistic proficiency Howlers' President Karl Fix, Andrew Purdey and the staff at Shawnigan Lake School ) came up with a plan to hopefully bring a candidate to that level. I in turn am serving to help implement this strategy.

It was decided that 2 players will compete for this opportunity .

The Howlers have taken on the task of funding the two youths to attend one of Colombia’s top English schools, El Colombo Americano, where they are currently taking intensive course four days a week. The two will continue taking the classes for a six to 9 month period to raise their level of English with the intention of one qualifying to attend Shawnigan in the fall of 2016.

The level of English training they are receiving at this point may already prove to be a value tool for both candidates later in life.

The candidates for the scholarship are:
Juan Camilo Uribe
Carlos Stiven Pestaña

"No es sólo un juego , es una forma de vida" (it's not just a game , it's a way of life)
Damon Weigl

HOWLERS DONATE "WE LOVE RUGBY" T-SHIRTS FOR REGINA YOUTH RUGBY PROGRAM

5/13/2015

Howlers' Peni Lutu ( pic #3) along with Rob Godfrey have have started an exiting new youth rugby endeavour in Regina Saskatchewan. They head up a team of some 10 volunteer coaches that are introducing rugby to a group of over 100 boys and girls ranging from ages 3 to 13. Congratulations to everyone involved in this program that both the kids and parents are loving !! IT'S MORE THAN A GAME, IT'S A WAY OF LIFE"

Howlers Nate Serevi Selected to USA Women's Spring Collegiate D1 Championship All Tournament Team

4/28/2015

HOWLERS NATE SEREVI SELECTED TO USA WOMEN'S SPRING COLLEGATE D1 CHAMPIONSHIP ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM - CONGRATULATIONS AND HOWUUUUU !!
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There was a lot of talent in Pittsburgh last weekend, when eight of the top women’s DI and DII colleges competed for their respective spring championships. As such, we polled the final-four coaches for nominations to an all-tournament team, and then weighed those selections against the recommendations of a national team scout who was identifying players on site.

What emerged is the below 23-player all-star squad that consists of 15 starters and eight reserves (stay tuned for DII). Remember that players weren’t selected on their body of work during the year, but how they performed in two playoff games. Additionally, there was no filling of positional gaps Meaning, a team would normally need more than two locks, for example, on a 23-player squad, but the All-Tournament Team only includes those players whom the coaches and scout nominated.

DI finalists Central Washington and Women’s Cougar Rugby (BYU) have the most representatives with seven apiece, Life has five players, and West Chester four.

Women DI College Spring Championship – All Tournament Team
Front Row (5)
Rebeka Boaz (BYU)
Anna Bocchino (West Chester)
Suli Tausinga (Central Washington)
Tayler Van Hoosier (Life)
Angela Ve'evalu (Central Washington)

2nd Row (2)
Haley Schafer (Central Washington)
Meighan Stevens (BYU)

Back Row (5)
Sam Elmore (Life)
Erin Gallagher (West Chester)
Justina Grubb (BYU)
Jenny Johnson (Central Washington)
Nicole Strasko (Life)

Halfbacks (3)
Nicole McCullough (BYU)
Ros Pena (Central Washington)
Sam Tretter (West Chester)

Centers (5)
Nicole Benedetti (West Chester)
Kaitlyn Broughton (Life)
Jordan Gray (BYU)
Kayla Richardson (BYU)
Nate Serevi (Central Washington)

Back Three (3)
Deshel Ferguson (Life)
Cassidy Meyers (Central Washington)
Jessica Peterson (BYU)

Medellin Colombia Rugby Project Initiated By Howlers ' Damon Weigl

4/25/2015

Working with “Mayo Por La Vida”, which in Colombia is the month of May being a celebration of non-violence, I have been presented a tremendous opportunity to grow the sport of rugby throughout Medellin.

Partners in the project at this point are as follows;

Alcaldía de Medellin (City of Medellin)
El ColomboAmericano
Mayo Por La Vida 2015
Liga Antioqueña de Rugby
Dog River Howlers Rugby Club
SKANSKA
TeleMedellin
University of Regina (Social Work Faculty)
Colegio San Ignacio

The project in short will be as follows.

The ColomboAmericano Art Gallery in Medellin, where I am completing my final social work practicum, works in a variety of schools and focuses on creating art metaphors for social problems. The program works in six to eight week cycles in which they single out a social issue, invite a group of local artists to a round-table to develop ideas, then work in eight designated high schools in creating an art exhibits, which will then be displayed in an art gallery in downtown Medellin for a period of 6 to 8 weeks.
My job in these projects has been to act as a social advisor to the artists and students.

The current lab based around non-violence is called “Deporte no es Violencia” (Sports is non-Violent). Outside of North America, when we talk about violence in sports we are talking about violence that happens outside of game. This societal violence is seen in forms fan violence and violence towards players and officials.

Anyway, in addition to the art lab the City of Medellin has funded us for a rugby project. Having spoke with them about the values and culture of rugby they suggested a tournament at the end of May with students from the 8 schools.

The fund has allowed for the hiring of several of the Colombia national players, including cap Howler, Juan Manuel Diosa, as coaches in the project.

Week one was a lot of fun; hopefully we can continue to grow something special.

Thanks to all the Howlers who have helped us gain this momentum.

3 HOWLERS SELECTED TO CANADA MEN'S NATIONAL U-20 RUGBY TEAM

4/25/2015

Howlers Owen Brombal, Mitch Santilli and Theo Sauter will be travelling with the Canadian Men's U-20 National Rugby Team to Lisbon Portugal to the World Rugby U20 competition in mid May. Oh Canada and Howuuuuuuu !!

Canada’s World Rugby U20 Trophy 2015 Match Schedule
May 12 vs. Namibia – 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET)
May 16 vs. Hong Kong – 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET)
May 20 vs. Tonga – 7 p.m. local time (11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET)

Play-Off Schedule
May 24 – 7th Place Play-Off – 11 a.m. local time (3 a.m. PT/6 a.m. ET)
May 24 – 5th Place Play-Off – 1 p.m. local time (5 a.m. PT/8 a.m. ET)
May 24 – 3rd Place Play-Off – 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET)
May 24 – Final – 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET)

Canada’s U-20 Roster for Under-20 Junior World Rugby Trophy:

Phil Berna – (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
Brendan Blaikie – (Queen’s University/Markham Irish) Markham, ON
Luke Bradley – (UVIC Vikes/Port Alberni Black Sheep) Port Alberni, BC
HOWLER - Owen Brombal – (Guelph Redcoats) Guelph, ON
Andrew Coe – (UBC Thunderbirds/Markham Irish) Markham, ON
Paul Cuilini – (Aurora Barbarians) Vaughan, ON
Guiseppe du Toit – (UVIC Vikes) Maple Ridge, BC
Patrick Finlay – (Trinity University) Dublin, Ireland
Harjun Gill – (UBC Thunderbirds/Richmond RFC) Richmond, BC
Dylan Horgan – (UCC Rugby Club) Cork, Ireland
Daniel Joyce – (Trinity University) Dublin, Ireland
Karsten Leitner – (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
Cali Martinez – (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
Ollie Nott – (UVIC Vikes) Qualicum, BC
Reegan O'Gorman (Vancouver Rowing Club) Vancouver, BC
Tony Pomroy – (Baymen RFC) Conception Bay South, NL
Mitch Rothman – (Vancouver Rowing Club) Vancouver, BC
Lucas Rumball – Captain (Balmy Beach) Scarborough, ON
HOWLER - Mitch Santilli – (Brantford Harlequins) Brantford, ON
HOWLER - Theo Sauder – (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
Emil Sehic – (Fredericton Loyalists) Fredericton, NB
John Shaw – (Bytown Blues) Ottawa, ON
Matt Tierney – (Mississauga Blues) Oakville, ON
Adrian Wadden – (Oakville Crusaders) Mississauga, ON
Bryce Worden – (Burnaby Lake RFC/Belleisle RFC) Sussex, NB
Conor Young – (Southern Districts RC) Sydney, Australia

Canada’s Under-20 Men’s Staff:

Jeff Williams – Head Coach
Ken Goodland – Assistant Coach
Todd Silverthorn – Manager
Jessica Smith – Therapist
Abby Galenzoski – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Alasdair Polson – Doctor

Eight Howlers Invited to Rugby Canada Senior Women's West Camp

4/13/2015

Howlers Lynzi Anderson, Gillian Allen, Laura Crowe- Hutchison, Julia Foste, Jodie Hicks, Amanda Thornbouogh, Amanda Williams and Lauren Young have been invited the Canada West Women’s 15's selection camp which is being held this week at Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island from April 14-18.
ALL THE BEST LADIES AND HOWUUUUUUU !!

WEST CAMP ROSTER
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HOWLER 1. Lynzi Anderson
HOWLER 2. Gillian Allen
3. Andrea Burk
4. Sammy Crandell
HOWLER 5. Laura Crowe-Hutchon
6. Jessica Dovanne
7. Sasha Elliot
8. Alanna Fittes
HOWLER 9. Julia Folk
10. Haley Glendinning
11. Julia Goss
12. Chelsea Guthrie
HOWLER 13. Jodie Hicks
14. Gabrielle Hindley
15. Randall Hunter
16. Hilary Leith
17. Carolyn McEwan
18. Katie McNally
19. Daleaka Menin
20. Barbara Mervin
21. Chelsea Minter
22. Jenna Morrison
23. Jess Neilson
24. Tiffany Picketts
25. Coreen Riley
26. Laura Russell
27. Elysa Sandron
28. Kristy Sargent
29. Demi Stamatakis
30. Daris Tendler
HOWLER 31. Amanda Thornborough
32. Emily Tuttosi
33. Emily Van Gulik
34. Brittany Waters
HOWLER 35. Amanda Williams
HOWLER 36. Lauren Whyte
37. Emily Young
38. Julianne Zussman