A notable winter of rugby fixtures on the Island began Saturday with the professional Seattle Seawolves taking on the Vancouver Island Crimson Tide in an exhibition at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
The match was in progress at press time.
The Seawolves were the champions in the inaugural season of Major League Rugby, which relatively hopes to do for its sport what Major League Soccer has done for that sport in North America.
The playing head coach of the Seawolves is Victoria legend Phil Mack, who guided the Seattle club to the MLR championship with his patented scrum-half play.
That pro title began a memorable season, which continued when Mack captained sa国际传媒 to the 2019 World Cup in Japan with crucial victories over Kenya, Germany and Hong Kong in the last-chance qualifier last month in Marseille, France.
Mack and his Seawolves faced a Crimson Tide roster comprised of players from James Bay Athletic Association, Castaway Wanderers, University of Victoria Vikes, Westshore RC, Cowichan and Nanaimo and featuring the likes of Canadian national team players Luke Campbell, Doug Fraser, Ryan Kotlewski and Noah Barker.
Head coach of the Crimson Tide for the exhibition match was former Canadian World Cup player Sean White, also a former sevens star for sa国际传媒, who now coaches JBAA.
Before the game, Mack looked back on his hallmark year on two fronts.
鈥淭he qualifier with sa国际传媒 was one of the most pressure-filled environments I鈥檝e ever experienced,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t was a massive relief to have accomplished our goal and qualify for the World Cup. A ton of credit has to go to our coaching staff for preparing us for the challenge, as well as the support we as players felt from around the country.鈥�
From country to club, it was an equally gratifying year for the 33-year-old scrum-half dynamo out of Oak Bay High, the University of Victoria Vikes and JBAA as he helped lay the groundwork for the MLR.
鈥淭he experience in Seattle was great,鈥� said Mack.
鈥淲e have a very talented team and some of the most supportive fans I鈥檝e ever seen. It鈥檚 truly special playing a home game at Starfire Stadium.鈥�
Several of the Crimson Tide players will no doubt be eying pro careers as the MLR enters its second season of operation in 2019.
Meanwhile, upcoming rugby fixtures in Langford will help sa国际传媒 prepare for the 2019 World Cup, where it will be in Pool B with games Sept. 26 in Fukuoka against Italy, New Zealand All Blacks on Oct. 2 in Oita, South Africa Springboks on Oct. 8 in Kobe and Namibia on Oct. 13 at Kamaishi Memorial Recovery Stadium in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit prefecture of Iwate.
Island fans can see sa国际传媒 play when the World Cup-bound national side hosts Chile on Feb. 22 and Argentina XV on March 1 in the Americas Rugby Championship at Westhills Stadium.
The other big rugby dates at Westhills in 2019 are May 11-12 when the 2016 Rio Olympic bronze-medallist Canadian team hosts the women鈥檚 sa国际传媒 Sevens. It is the fifth of sixth World Series tournaments, out of which the top-four nations will advance directly to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. sa国际传媒 is second in the standings after two World Series events.
