Howlers U-16 Place 3rd in Heidelberg International Sevens Tournament

The Dog River Howlers U-16’s placed third in the inaugural Heidelberg International Junior Seven’s Tournament. This first annual tournament had 8 teams competing from four countries. Coaches Shane Thompson and Bruce Barton conducted four training sessions to prepare the players for competition. Twelve players made up the squad with 7 from BC, 1 from Alberta, 2 from Saskatchewan and 2 from Ontario. Tournament organizers are looking to expand the tournament to 16 teams, representing 10 countries in 2013. The Howlers went 2 and 1 in round robin play, placing second in their pool. They lost their opening game 7-0 to a side from Germany (German 7’s champions). However, they bounced back with wins against teams from Paris (19-0) and Alsace (42-5). They played a very strong team from the Pyrenees (French National 7’s champions) and lost 31-0 in the semi final setting up the consolation final against the Romanian National U-16’s side. The team played their best game of the tournament and beat the Romanians 45-5 to earn a bronze medal. Coaches Thompson and Barton were very pleased with the effort of the team and felt they made great progress in a short period of time. The Howlers are hoping to make this an annual event as Canada continues to develop their talent base at the U-16 level. Joe Heilman was the team manager and Karl Fix of the Howlers was the tour organizer/Director and Team singer. The boys had a fantastic rugby experience and had the opportunity of touring historic and beautiful Heidelberg.

 U16 Dog River Howlers Roster

Name (Club) (Hometown)
1. Brandon Baker (Thom Collegiate,Campion Grads RFC) (Regina, Saskatchewan)
2. George Barton (Shawnigan Lake School/Cowichan RFC) (Duncan, BC)
3. Christian Grillo (Mayfield Secondary School/Mississauga Blues RFC) (Caledon, Ontario)
4. Payton Hall (Campbell Collegiate/Condors RFC) (Regina, Saskatchewan)
5. Cole Keffer (Sutherland Secondary/Capilano RFC) (North Vancouver, BC)
6. Jake Knapton (Sutherland Secondary/Capilano RFC) (North Vancouver, BC)
7. John Mitchell (Shawnigan Lake School) (West Vancouver, BC)
8. Callahan McMaster  (Shawnigan Lake School) (Hong Kong)
9. Jackson McDonough (Western Canada High School/Canucks RFC) (Calgary Alberta)
10. Theo Sauder (St. Georges School) (Vancouver, BC)
11. Ben Scher  (St. Georges School) (Vancouver, BC)
12. Kieran Smerdon (Christ the King CSS/Mississauga Blues RFC) (Georgetown, Ontario)

Head Coach - Shane Thompson
Assistant Coach - Bruce Barton
Manager - Joe Heilman