I moved to Vancouver with my cousin (Jack Knights) and best friend (Rhys Redman) in 2017. I was 3 years out of university (Cardiff Met) and working as a rugby coach in a school in Bath (England). I had always wanted to experience living abroad and knew Jack and Rhys also wanted to, and so the three of us began looking into it. Our criteria were English speaking, skiing in the winter, road trips in the summer and of course, a rugby club to play for. Vancouver ticked all the boxes. I drafted an email explaining who we were and our intentions, and sent it to all of the rugby clubs in the Lower Mainland. Within an hour, I had a response. The response was from Andy Blackburn, Director of Rugby at Bayside Sharks, a club I had never heard of but would very soon become basically my entire life! Andy’s email suggested we should talk over the phone, and shortly after, I was having my first conversation with a future mentor and dear friend. When I picked up the phone, I was unexpectedly greeted by a thick Yorkshire accent. It turned out Andy had moved to Vancouver at a similar age to what I was at the time and had been living there ever since. After an hour on the phone talking all things British Columbia, White Rock and Bayside, I was hooked. As soon as I was off the phone with Andy, I called Jack and Rhys and explained the wheels were in motion, WE WERE MOVING TO WHITE ROCK TO PLAY FOR BAYSIDE SHARKS!
I could easily write a diary of the amazing 2 years that followed my arrival in Vancouver, but this testimonial would be the length of a novel. Instead, I will focus on four things;
- the wider club, the people and the support we received from them,
- The standard of rugby and my experience coaching the Bayside Senior Men’s programme,
- travelling in North America and the countless memorable experiences I had.
Bayside is a truly special rugby club. It is more than a rugby club, it’s a community. Nothing speaks more to this than the countless people who helped us settle in to our new lives. Just to mention a few… Andy picked us up from the airport. The Sullivan family (Lee, Juliet, Kerri, Tom, Liam) let us stay in their family home rent free for the first month, fed us and generally showed us the lay of the land. Lee Sullivan, now known as ‘Uncle Lee’ also lent us his work truck for the entire first month and at any point we needed it during the next 2 years. Kev ‘Grandad’ Whitmarsh picked me up and took me to my first senior men’s training session, followed by a short ride post training to the 3 Dogs Micro Brewery, which became a place we regularly frequented and the owner Turtle/Turkish, another member of the Bayside community became a close friend and future housemate. Grandad Kev also took me to the Prestige Workshop at the end of my first week for post-work beers and pizza. Here I met the Thorpe Twins – Gunner and Zack, long time Bayside members and the life and soul of the club.
When it came to finding a house, Bayside’s best realtor Geof Cutler pointed us in the right direction an helped us find our first house, which became the unofficial club house and was known as ‘Ruckingham Palace’ or the ‘Palace’ for short. When we moved into the Palace, it had zero furniture, but in true Bayside fashion we had the place furnished in a few weeks. Countless members donated furniture, people we had never met got in touch saying they could drop something off or we could pick something up. We had more sofas that we knew what to do with! Once we had settled in, a job was also provided by community members.
The above examples are just a fraction of the amazing members at Bayside. If you buy into the club, I promise you will get everything you put in and more back from this truly incredible community!
Nothing beats a home game-day at South Surrey Athletic Park, the home of the Bayside Sharks. Unlike rugby in England, where teams are often in different locations, we would regularly have huge club days, where all senior men’s and women’s teams were all playing at home. This often meant 4 to 6 games across the 2 pitches. Staggered kick off’s meant that by the time the men’s 1st XV or women’s 1st XV took the field a huge crowd had gathered on the bank to cheer the club on. On the field Men’s Division 1 Rugby is a good standard. For those of you from England, I would say it’s the physicality of National 3, combined with the skill level of London 1 or another regional equivalent. If you want to see a flavour of Div 1 rugby, click the link to see a try Bayside scored in my first season – https://www.rugbydump.com/news/fijian-flair-in-canadian-club-rugby-sets-up-speedster-out-wide/
The club is the perfect blend between old and new school. It preserves old rugby traditions, like sticking around beyond the full-time whistle for food with the opposition, awards and the infamous boat race. If you lose on the field you can always redeem your performance in the boat race! Going for beers post-Thursday training is a part of the session, everyone who trains goes for at least one drink. At the same time Bayside is very progressive rugby club. There is very little hierarchy in the club and huge equity between the men’s and women’s programme. Socially the men’s and women’s teams are one unit. The committee compared to a lot of English clubs has good representation from both genders as well as a combination of current and former players. There is also a positive connection between the 3 factions of the club; the SOB’s (old Boys), The Seniors and the Mini’s and Juniors. Its isn’t uncommon to see mini’s and juniors supporting the senior teams on a Saturday and then vice versa on a Sunday.
Bayside gave me the opportunity to coach the senior men’s programme after a couple of months in the country. I had coached a good standard previously in the UK, but had never coached senior men’s Rugby. Despite this, the club were willing to take a punt on me. We finished the season with the Div 1 team reaching the championship final and the Div 2 team reaching the semi-final. The following year we were able to go one better with the Men’s 1st XV winning the division 1 championship. I will be forever grateful to Bayside and all those involved in the senior men’s programme during my coaching tenure. This 2 years is without doubt the time period where I developed my craft as a young coach and is the reason I am now a full-time rugby coach of a top schools programme back in England.
Finally, my two years in Canada was packed with so many fun experiences and memories, most of which wouldn’t have happened without Bayside. I will list as many as I can below, hopefully they provide some inspiration for future generations of Bayside imports. These are in no particular order:
- First away trip to Kelowna. Staying in my first motel, plus a class night out at the Blue Gator and Liquid Zoo.
- Beers with the SOB’s at West Beach Bar and Grill on White Rock beach.
- Wings Wednesday at Sawbucks.
- Away trip to Vancouver Island to play Port Alberni. The bus trip back to the Ferry on a Yellow School bus was a first.
- My parents and sister coming over for Xmas. Its snowed.
- Bayside Boxing Day Touch Rugby and the whole club coming to the Palace afterwards for a party.
- Seeing Nickelback at Rogers Arena.
- Going to my first NHL Game – Vancouver Canucks.
- Going to down to Seatle and watching the Seahawks.
- Halloween party at the Filth (you will have to join the club to find out about this place).
- Going to Leavenworth for Octoberfest and joining the annual parade.
- My first ever Silly Sunday. A tradition brought over by the Aussies which still continues every year.
- Cycling the Galloping Goose Trail to Sooke Potholes on Vancouver Island.
- Watching England football matches at the British bar down town.
- Hosting breakfast and six nations games (6:30am KO) that turned into all-dayers.
- Playing for the import team in the Super Bowl Sunday Baby Back Rib Bowl.
- End of season tour to the Williams Lake Rugby competition. Still want to win a belt buckle one day.
- Going to BC place for the Vancouver 7s.
- The imports 7 week Xmas David Beckham Road trip through the Rockies. 12 Ski resorts in 7 weeks, including Banff and Yellowstone national parks!
- Rugby tour to Portland. What geos on tour stays on tour.
- Australia Day fancy dress parties.
The above are just a fraction of things I packed into my 2 years and it was all made possible because of Bayside. I absolutely love this club. If anyone asks me who my club is, I always say Bayside, because I owe the club and the people so much. I wouldn’t be leading the life I live now and I am so grateful for the experience I had and most importantly the friends I made.
Move to White Rock and play for the Sharks. It will be the best decision you ever make.
For anyone thinking of following in the footsteps of former imports like me, I am more than happy to chat. You can contact me at samedwardknights@gmail.com