Collingwood went into this year's rugby season with a real opportunity to earn a BC AA three-peat. The team had fifteen returning Grade 12 players who were hungry to earn the Cavs' tenth provincial title. One of the reasons that the team had a legitimate shot at this was its enormous strength down the middle at hooker, #8, flyhalf and fullback. Successful rugby teams are often built around these key positions.
Of course, the season did not happen. However, the BC Secondary Schools Rugby Union and Howard Tsumura have published a list of the top Grade 12 high school rugby players in the province this year, which they call the Fab 50. Collingwood placed four players in this incredibly talented group. Joey Ficocelli (Hooker/Flanker), Thomas Foote (#8/Flanker), Nate Holm (Flyhalf/Centre) and Blaise Benoit (Fullback/Flyhalf) all were selected.
This is a great honour for these four young men. They are all fantastic rugby players but more importantly they have been great leaders while at the school. Congratulations to Joey, Thomas, Nate and Blaise.
Here is the link to Howard Tsumura's fantastic blog Varsity Letters, which covers High School and University sports.
Also, a big thank you to Adam Roberts who spearheaded this initiative. Adam is the longtime Earl Marriott coach and is always looking for great ways to celebrate the young men playing high school rugby in this province.
Joey Ficocelli
Thomas Foote
Nate Holm
Blaise Benoit