British Columbia Bears 7 - 46 England Counties - In Pictures

England Counties Manager Danny Hodgson said that he was the happiest man in Canada after his team completed a hat trick of tour wins by beating BC Bears with a rousing performance at Klahanie Park in Vancouver.

The game was an especially emotional experience for the Northumberland farmer, who stands down from the Counties management team after this game having been involved as Assistant Manager and Manager since the side was put together in 2002.

And how well his latest group of players – average age 22 – responded to the challenge of providing the hugely popular Hodgson with a perfect send-off. They scored seven tries in all, with fly half Paul Humphries converting two and his replacement Ross Winney adding two conversions and a penalty.

The following are photos from the match, taken by Blair Shier.

All photos copyright Blair Shier.

England Counties vs BC Bears teams

England Counties XV: Gareth Collins (Leicester Lions & Warwickshire); James Tincknell (Wharfedale & Yorkshire), Henry Staff (Blackheath & Hertfordshire), Steve Hamilton (Blackheath & Kent), Tom Jarvis (unattached & Gloucestershire); Paul Humphries (Blackheath & Kent), Will Cliff (Sale Sharks & Cheshire); Matt Long (Birmingham Solihull & Gloucstershire) capt, Jonny Roddam (Fylde & Lancashire), Craig Voisey (Rotherham & North Midlands), Louis McGowan (Coventry & Lancashire), Harry Spencer (Saracens/Bedford & Devon), Mark Wilson (Blaydon & Northumberland), Daniel Baines (Macclesfield & Lancashire), Mark Evans (Moseley & North Midlands).
Replacements: all used - Matt Hall (Blaydon & Northumberland), Nick Flynn (Sedgley Park & Lancashire), Gavin Woods (Caldy & Cheshire), Luke Collins (Redruth & Cornwall), Phil Eggleshaw (Nottingham & Durham), Ross Winney (Macclesfield & Cheshire), Kyle Dench (Harrogate & Yorkshire), Fergus Mulchrone (Macclesfield & Cheshire).

BC Bears: M Hall; B Carpenter, S Dawai, T Dalziel, B Nicholson; J Hirst, C Brown; R Hanmer, R Down, S Mackay, E Lopatinsky, M Burak capt, C Pierce, S Gay, C Morrison.
Replacements: D Cameron, L Hart, A Zaruba, S Plummer, H Belanger, J McKenzie, C Trainor, K Appledoom. Referee: D Smortchevsky (Canada)