Training with the Oak Bay Barbarians as a teenager, the scrawny red head named Connor Braid certainly didnB次元官网网址檛 graduate as Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 next big thing.
Last week at the Vancouver Rugby Sevens tournament in BC Place, Braid showed Canadians why he is considered one of the best sevens players in the world right now. While heB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渉aving a great time, travelling the world and training everyday,B次元官网网址� every success the 28-year-old enjoys is also a humbling tribute to Dylan Jones, his lifelong friend and another Oak Bay High grad and rugby player who died from cancer in September 2017.
A power man on attack and defence, Connor Braid was just awesome for in Las Vegas. He was your Impact Player after a brilliant USA Sevens. Can he back it up at in Vancouver?
B次元官网网址� World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s)
For the second straight year, when Braid scored a try in Vancouver he lifted his shirt to reveal he was wearing JonesB次元官网网址� name on an undershirt throughout the tournament. It was also the second straight IRB World Sevens tournament Braid was named the DHL Impact Player of the tournament, an award based on an advanced stat that combines tackles, breaks, offloads and carries. He leads the 2019 circuit with a combined score of 226. BraidB次元官网网址檚 also seventh overall in tries on this yearB次元官网网址檚 circuit with 20, including one in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 epic 26-19 win over third-ranked Fiji in Vancouver, which he followed with a hat trick in the next game, a 36-12 win over Kenya.
Canada finished the tournament 10th overall and is now in Hong Kong for the marquee event on the annual World Sevens series, one that injects an estimated $65 million into the local economy.
B次元官网网址淚 started the tribute [to Jones] in Vancouver last year for his family who were there [at the tournament],B次元官网网址� said Braid, who works in commercial real estate with D. R. Coell and Associates in Victoria when he can. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 tough when you lose a buddy, and itB次元官网网址檚 sad when their name stops being mentioned but heB次元官网网址檚 never gone. In some way I make a little tribute to him everyday.B次元官网网址�
Jones fought lymphoma cancer for four years, succumbing at 27. Initially Jones looked to be a rising star in rugby, a high school athlete who excelled in any sport he played. In 2006 Braid and Jones were among five underage players to join the senior Oak Bay Barbarians on tour to the U.K. The two of them were among the characters of the trip but also played, and showed a lot of promise, said Pete Atkinson, who coached Braid at Oak Bay High from 2005 to 2008 and then again at James Bay Athletic Association.
READ MORE:
B次元官网网址淚n high school Braid was one of our best players, but he was a scrappy, scrawny fighter, who didnB次元官网网址檛 bulk up until after high school,B次元官网网址� said Atkinson. B次元官网网址淛ones was also very good, they were our leaders.B次元官网网址�
Ask Braid, and it was Jones who had the better talent.
B次元官网网址淗e was a better rugby player than I am,B次元官网网址� said Braid. B次元官网网址淗e was a big supporter and heB次元官网网址檚 a reminder that itB次元官网网址檚 a fragile [life]. I put his name on before I run on the field. It gets me fired up when I put it on. When I score a try, I try to keep his memory alive.B次元官网网址�
READ ALSO:
Without a doubt, Braid is now one of the most powerful on the World Sevens circuit, said Sean White, a former teammate.
White was on the Barbarians tour to the U.K. in 2008 as a Grade 12. He remembers then-coach Murray Allen asking White to work with Braid, a junior, in extra training sessions. The two spent multiple seasons sharing the pitch for Canada Sevens and JBAA. White now coaches James Bay AA and the B.C. Bears Sevens program, which meant rostering Braid in a couple of early-season JBAA matches in the fall.
It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until Braid graduated high school and focused on playing for the Canadian U20 menB次元官网网址檚 rugby team that he bulked up and became the driven player he is today, adding at least 15 pounds in those first two years, White recalls.
B次元官网网址淚 think a lot of us athletic guys didnB次元官网网址檛 put a lot of effort into our schooling,B次元官网网址� White said. B次元官网网址淥nce [Braid] graduated I saw him put a lot of effort and focus into his commitment to himself, and rugby, and itB次元官网网址檚 no coincidence that his rugby career started to bud.B次元官网网址�
To see Braid carrying JonesB次元官网网址� memory on the global stage resonates far and wide in the Greater Victoria rugby community, White said.
B次元官网网址淏raidB次元官网网址檚 finally getting the recognition he deserves, heB次元官网网址檚 getting noticed, and itB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檝e been seeing for years,B次元官网网址� White said. B次元官网网址淲ith Dylan, itB次元官网网址檚 personal for Connor. TheyB次元官网网址檙e basically childhood friends, and ConnorB次元官网网址檚 inspired, not just with a chip on his shoulder, but the extra motivation to be the best player he can be and itB次元官网网址檚 starting to show.B次元官网网址�
The ultimate goal for Braid is to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics sevens tournament, a berth the Canadian men missed in 2016 (though the women won a bronze).
Like us on and follow us on
