Get to know the competing teams at this year’s Vancouver Invitational.

Similar to BC, Alberta have split into two fairly even teams in preparation for Nationals. Both the Roughnecks and Bighorns have a mix of newer and experienced players plus D1 and D2 talent.

Coaches Bruce Crosby and Cliff Wooten will get to try out different strategies against a number of familiar foes.

Roughnecks

Hi-lo rugby has become increasingly popular in recent years and the Roughnecks will get to play a lot of it with high-pointers Tristan Kowal, Denolm Stephens and Lana Cicko joined by a group of talented low-pointers in Andrew Cheung, Kasey Aiello and BJ Engerdahl.

They’ve definitely got some pace to them and it’ll be intriguing to see how the Roughnecks can exploit the space as they look for another appearance in the final.

Alberta Bighorns

The Bighorns have a lot of experienced players led by Ken Hicks and Dave Guiry, two talented veterans who are capable of playing above their class.

The older guard is joined by a handful of emerging newer talents in the big and hard-to-move Kurt Timmonds (he gives our site admin nightmares on the court) and Kim Fayzant, a brand new player with speed to burn.

Ones To Watch

Tristan Kowal 3.5 – Alberta Roughnecks
The new kid on the block for Alberta is a speedy new player bursting with potential. Look for him to be the focal point of the Roughnecks offense and an aggressive defender on the other side of the ball.

Dave Guiry 1.5 – Alberta Bighorns
Wit and Wingspan are two words that can describe Dave Guiry’s game. He uses his long arms to power a speedy push, make impressive passes and disrupt opposing attackers.