NEWS REPORT

A group of local rugby players couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present.

South Surrey’s Todd McBride and Ali Shebani, who currently toil with Bayside RFC’s premier side, along with Pat Bickerton and Tim Barrett (who go to school at University of Victoria), but are former Bayside players, have been chosen to represent Canada at the IRB’s 7s series in South America next week. The Canadian side leaves Dec. 31 for Santiago, Chile where they’ll spend the next week at a 16-team tournament. They then move on Mar Del Plata for another tournament.

“I’m more excited than nervous,” said McBride, 25, who will suit up for the Nats as a hooker or prop for the fourth-straight time in international play. “There’s always the aspect of having nerves, but it’s a pretty big goal to reach...I’m starting to calm down.” Shebani, 23 will don the Canadian jersey for the first time as a 7s player as a scrum-half. “I’m a little nervous, I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I’m not going to think about it, there’s a lot of stars on the team.” Bickerton, 23, in his third year of a history and economics degree at U Vic, was surprised but obviously happy about his first-time selection to the squad. “My goal was to get picked,” he said from Victoria. “But it was still an unexpected selection and I’m very surprised.”

All four players were selected after a 7s try-out that included 50 men from across the country. Head coach Doug Tait, who is also UVic’s head coach, named 12 players for the two tournaments. In Chile, Canada is in a round-robin pool with New Zealand, Wales and Paraguay. In Argentina, they’ll be among South America, Fiji, and Brazil.

In both tournaments, sides spend the entire week practicing, prior to pool play on Jan. 5 and 12 respectively. The top-two sides from each pool advance to the championship round on Jan. 6 and 13 respectively.

“I think they’ll teach us a few lessons,” Bickerton said of Canada’s competition. “They’re (Fiji, New Zealand, Wales) the best in the world, and we can only improve.”

Sides play two, seven-minute halves with three forwards and four backs, making it a much faster game. “It’s pretty fast in scrums,” McBride said. “You can spit the ball out pretty quick with pushing or pulling, the little technical stuff you do.” “It’s very positional,” Bickerton added. “You have to make sure you’re in the right spot and you have to read and watch the play.” While he may be new to the international game, Shebani, who is pretty quick on his feet, likes the speed, compared to the style of 15s play. “In 15s, if you go for a big run, you have lots of time to recover,” he said. “In 7s, there are no breaks, and if you do take one, you get yelled at.” Trying to find the time to train and prepare for the New Year has been tough for them.

Shebani, a sports science student at Douglas College, also works for the City of White Rock in the operations department. McBride, who is one credit shy of his math degree at UVic, turned down a job opportunity in Calgary just so he could come home and play rugby year-round. Shebani, Barrett and Bickerton are the three rookies on Canadian side making the trip to South America.

It gives Rugby Canada the chance to develop the up and coming talent in the country. And the experience is definitely worth it, McBride said. “You get the experience and exposure of going on trips like this,” he said. “I’m proud to wear the Canadian jersey. I would never get an opportunity to go to countries like this and experience the culture.” The Canadian side will play at half-time of a intersquad match of the Canadian U-19 side Dec. 29 in Victoria.

The U-19 trials, which began last week, include 2001 Earl Marriott graduate Chris Smith, Elgin Park grad Tony LaCarte, and Alec and Tom Myring of Semiahmoo. LaCarte and the Myring twins helped Bayside’s U-18 side to a provincial title Dec. 9. Smith is home for Christmas after spending the first four months of an eight-month year at Cardiff School in Cwmcarn, Wales.