Vancouver, BC: Burnaby Lake Rugby Club are the final squad to qualify for the 2011-2012 Canadian Direct Insurance Premier League after defeating the Bayside Sharks 20-11 on Saturday, November 26th. Burnaby competed in two rounds of qualifying to clinch their berth into the province's highest caliber of men's club competition. Burnaby's Division One side will go through to the Ceili's Cup League and will have the chance to defend their provincial title. 

Burnaby's Elite side had narrowly missed out during the first round of qualification, and instead saw Capilano and Abbotsford go through. During the second round of qualifying in November, Burnaby went undefeated to claim the eighth and final berth. Burnaby downed Velox 44-5 on November 5th, defeated Vancouver Rowing Club 41-10 on November 12th and then sealed qualification with the 20-11 win on Saturday. 

Burnaby  kicker Geoff Ryan led all scorers against Bayside with a 15-point contribution. Ryan converted four penalties and a drop goal, while Admir Cejvanovic crossed over for a try. Bayside kicker and the Spray League's leading scorer Pete Clifford kicked two penalties for six points, and Chris Pack crossed over for the Sharks' lone try.  

"The importance for our club to qualify for the Premier League is huge," said Burnaby Lake head coach Kris de Scossa. "The ramifications of not qualifying for 80-90 players who have been training and ready to compete at the highest level can not be understated. We have been playing in some very competitive games against Capilano and Abbotsford and I look forward to seeing us play at the level during the 2011-2012 Premier League season." 

Along with qualifiers Capilano and Abbotsford, Burnaby will now join the five pre-qualified teams including Castaway Wanderers RFC, Meraloma Rugby Club, UBCOB Ravens, James Bay Athletic Association and the University of Victoria Vikes. The 2011-2012 CDI Premier League schedule will be released shortly. 

As Burnaby was qualifying and missed out on the early stages of the 2011-2012 CDI Premier League, two of their results against pre-qualified teams will carry through. The results were a 62-18 bonus point win over Meraloma Rugby Club on September 10th and a 36-3 win over the UBCOB Ravens on September 24th.  

Round 1 Qualifying Results: Capilano and Abbotsford qualfied
Sat. September 10th: Capilano [34 - 3] Abbotsford
Sat. September 17th: Vancouver Rowing Club [17 - 30] Burnaby Lake
Sat. September 24th: Capilano [14 - 18] Bayside Sharks
Sat. October 1st: Bayside Sharks [19 - 33] Abbotsford 
Sat. October 15th: Abbotsford [48 - 18] Vancouver Rowing Club
Sat. October 15th: Capilano [10 - 5] Burnaby Lake
Sat. October 22nd: Burnaby Lake [27 - 15] Bayside Sharks
Sat. October 29th: Abbotsford [24 - 22] Burnaby Lake
Sat. October 29th: Bayside Sharks [41 - 18] Vancouver Rowing Club 

Round 2 Qualifying Results: Burnaby Lake qualified
Sat. November 5th: Vancouver Rowing Club [22 - 78] Bayside Sharks
Sat. November 5th: Velox [5 - 44] Burnaby Lake 
Sat. November 12th: Velox [9 - 19] Bayside Sharks]
Sat. November 12th: Vancouver Rowing Club [10 - 41] Burnaby Lake
Sat. November 19th: Velox [38 - 40] Vancouver Rowing Club
Sat. November 26th: Bayside Sharks [11 - 20] Burnaby Lake