University of Victoria Athletics

University of Victoria Men’s Rugby Seven’s
 
 
Men’s Roster

 
Doug Tate (Head Coach)
Rick Farrally (Assistant Coach)
Shane Thompson (Assistant Coach)

 
Biography
After a very successful 2012-13 varsity seven’s season, the University of Victoria men’s rugby seven’s team were determined to reclaim the 2013 National University Rugby Seven’s Championship. Back in 2011, the Vikes won the inaugural seven’s championship; however, were defeated in 2012 by eastern rivals, University of Western Ontario.
 
After coming off a 7-0 record and winning the Las Vegas Invitational Seven’s tournament, UVic was quite confident heading into the championships. Head coach Doug Tate entered the same roster comprising of co-captains Patrick Kay and Jamie MacKenzie who returned from professional play overseas and first-years Fergus Hall and Nathan Yanagiyma who were given the chance to step up with the absence of national seven’s players Sean Duke, Nathan Hirayama and Phil Mack. Veteran Remi Anctil was another key returnee hoping to help lead the Vikes to victory.
 
The Vikes travelled to Langford, BC for the two-day tournament hosted at Westhills Stadium. For the first time Queen’s University of Kingston, ON and Simon Fraser University of Burnaby, BC entered to compete for top honours. UVic also entered a second team for the first time.
 
After the first day the Vikes were undefeated as they headed into the quarter-final round on day two. In the first game of the tournament, UVic found themselves down 12-0 against Ontario’s Humber College. Although caught off guard, the Vikes bounced back in the second half to take the game 24-12. After a shaky first game, the Vikes refocused to defeat McMaster University 29-7, University of Alberta 43-0 and running University of Regina 46-0. The day ended with strong performances from Liam Murray and Yanagiya, play-makers MacKenzie and Kay and offensive attackers Beau Parker, Kane Wyatt and Hall.
 
The Vikes opened day-two against Alberta in another convincing 48-5 victory.  In an exciting semifinal game against their UVic counterparts, the Norsemen, the Vikes defeated the Norsemen posting 35 points. The championship game united the University of Western Ontario in a rematch game against the Vikes. With strong Canadian national team members, Western was just as confident heading into the final game as UVic.

X-factor and first-year Hall singlw-handedly scooped up a loose ball and deked out two defenders for five points. Shortly after, Murray earned another try pushing the lead to 14-0 over their eastern rivals. Kay and Dustin Dobravsky added to UVic’s points for a 35-5 victory over Western to take the championship title once again.
 
“Our commitment on defense is what did it, it gave us a lot of our scoring opportunities,” said Tate. “We worked hard for the points but we also took pride in our defensive game and it was a well-deserved victory.”
 
At the end of the tournament, Kay led the UVic men with 20 points comprised of two tries and five conversions. Hall, Murray and Dobrovsky all earned a try each. Kay was named University Sevens tournament MVP. Yanagiya was named B.C Rugby University top scorer along side Vike Beau Parker.
 
At the annual UVic Celebration of Champions athletic banquet, Yanagiya was honoured as the male recipient of the Robert T. Wallace Shields award, which recognizes an outstanding student-athlete in his or her first year of intercollegiate sport competition. Anctil was recognized as an unsung hero of the rugby team, selected by his peers for leadership, dedication, community involvement and positive attitude.  

 
Season Summary
National University Sevens Rugby Championships: GOLD (1^st)

• Championship tournament record: 7-0
• Tournament MVP: Patrick Kay
• BCRU Top Scorer: Nathan Yanagiya, Beau Parker
• Championship Game vs. Western Mustangs: 35-5
  • Patrick Kay – 20 (2 tires, 5 conversions)
  • Fergus Hall – 5 (1 try)
  • Liam Murray – 5 (1 try)
  • Dustin Dobrovsky – 5 (1 try)

 
Robert T. Wallace Shields Award: Nathan Yanagiya
Varsity Highlights Award: Reni Anctil