A young Dog River Howlers side tied the "Firefighters" 19-19 and then closed off the preliminary round by beating "Gunshow" 43- 0 and the USA 7's club champions Old Puget Sound, from Seattle,  33-17. The Howlers, featuring 7 new members to the squad and a total of 4 under 20 players would then take on James Bay AA in the semi final of the Buccaneer 7's Tournament in Victoria on June 9, 2011. This very talented James Bay side, with 4 current and 2 recent Canadian international players in their ranks, beat the Howlers 33 - 0 and then  went on to beat Burnaby Lake in the championship.

Dog River Howlers
1.# * @ Dustin Dobravski - U of Victoria, BC
2.@ Michael Fuailefau - U of Victoria/Castaway Wanderers( Victoria, BC)
3.@ Jeff Hassler - Foothills Lions (Alberta)
4.# @ Patrick Kay - Cowachin RFC, Vancouver Island BC.
5.Filipe Kuruvoli aka "Muddy" -from Fiji
6.# Mike Okech - Maralomas RFC, Vancouver BC.
7.Ilesa Quaqua aka "Cullen" - from Fiji
8.Mallory Roe - Nanaimo Hornets, Vancouver Island BC
9.# Chase Sereda - Bayside RFC , White Rock, BC.
10.# Clay Panga - Calgary Hornets, Alberta.
11. Christian Henning - The Back Thunder RFC and Mexican 7's National Team.
12.@ Kurtis Appeldorn - Abbotsford Rugby Club.

# - previous Howler cap
* - Canada 15's and/or 7's cap at the senior level
@ - currently on the Canada U-20 team (15's)

Director of Coaching - # * Shane Thompson (Victoria, BC)
Coach - # * Winston Stanley ( Victoria, BC)
Manager - # Leo Lane ( Regina, Saskatchewan)

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OTTAWA, ON – Rugby Canada and the Dog River Howlers Rugby Club today launched a joint fundraising program to help Canada’s National Senior Men’s Team raise funds to offset their costs to participate in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The Dog River Howlers spearheaded a similar initiative in 2007 and successfully raised over $100,000.
This year’s fundraiser has been dubbed “We Stand on Guard for Thee” based on the concept that players will “stand on guard” for the nation’s rugby community and all Canadians as they represent Canada at the World Cup games. We in turn will “stand on guard” and show our support for their tireless efforts to be competitive on the world stage.  Most players hold full time jobs and take approximately three months of unpaid leave to train and prepare for the game.  Rugby Canada provides compensation to the players but it’s not comparable to what other nations in our pool pay their players. Your support by participating in this fundraising program will help close the gap and alleviate the financial pressure felt by the team members.

To assist with this fundraising initiative, we have commissioned talented Saskatchewan artist Ladd Fogarty to create a painting with the theme “We Stand on Guard for Thee” featuring four Canadian rugby players representing the mosaic of our country. From this original painting we will produce ““Glicée” (highest quality available) limited edition prints numbered and signed by the artist on canvas and fine art paper. They will also be signed by current and former Rugby World Cup captains making it a collector’s piece and a must have for any rugby enthusiast. By special request, the back of the prints can also be signed by any player or the entire team as well as the RWC captains.

Al Charron, former Canadian Rugby World Cup Captain presented the first canvas print to the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Peter MacKay, in Ottawa today. Minister MacKay is a rugby enthusiast and has matched up against Al Charron on the field for the “Game on the Hill,” a rugby 7s event held in Ottawa on May 27, 2009.  

A jersey similar to the one the players will wear at the RWC with the “We Stand on Guard for Thee” brand on the chest will be sold as well as a ball and a t-shirt featuring the image of the limited edition print.  

You can choose a player to support with your purchase of a “We Stand on Guard for Thee” item – simply note the player on your order form and the net proceeds will go back to the player.  A tax receipt for this amount will be provided to donors and will be at least half of the purchase price. 

Be part of this exciting promotion and get your limited edition merchandise before it’s gone. Visit   www.supportrugby.ca to purchase your merchandise today or call (905) 780-8998 for more details.

Karl Fix  - president of the Dog River Howlers Rugby Club where "it's more than a game, it's a way of life"  - www.dogriverhowlers.com   and facebook  - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=