Lost Piggies

Here you will find memories of Piggies who made an impact in our rugby community. These are our friends and our family who we dearly miss. We try and keep this page as up-to-date as possible, if you don’t see someone that you think should be honoured here then click the Submit button below.

Submit a Lost Piggie
A man with gray hair smiling and wearing a rugby jersey, standing outdoors with other people in the background on a grassy field.

  • Cowichan Rugby mourns the loss of a great man.  A man who was many things to many people, but to us, always a Piggie.

    Some of Andy’s many accomplishments in the Cowichan Valley:

    • Graduate of Cowichan Senior Secondary Class of 1968.  Member of the T-Birds Basketball and Rugby Teams and player of Cowichan Timbermen football club.

    • Chief of Maple Bay Volunteer Fire Department and involved in some capacity for over 40 years.

    • Founding Member and Past President of the Maple Bay Rowing Club.  He and Kathleen organized and ran the annual regatta on Quamichan Lake for 35 years!

    • Organizer and supporter for the Cowichan Sportplex expansion.

    • Board member for Kids’ Sports Cowichan.

    • Board member for the Cowichan Sports Wall of Fame.

    • He was an active worker bee for the Cowichan Senior Games and so many other events in our community.

    Andy was a constant presence at the Cowichan Rugby Club from the 1960s till 2020.

    Andy played rugby from the moment he arrived with his family in the Cowichan Valley at Cowichan High School, and the club levels from juniors, men’s first’s, thirds, over 35s, and finishing up with the over ‘40’s.

    During the building years of the facility, there was only one electrician – Andy.  He did all the wiring/electrical work at 1860 Herd Road.  (I’m sure most places in the area have had Andy in their electrical boxes).  He worked behind the scenes at Piggie Park for so many years.  His work at the club laid the foundation for our amazing facility.

    After his playing days, you always found Andy supporting all the club teams on the sidelines. And always have a social beer, and a chat.

    Andy loved rugby, and rugby loved him.  There are not enough words, or photos to honour such an enormously great man.  We thank him for his lifelong dedication to the sport, our facility, and our membership.

    As President, I thank him for blessing the club with his presence. As a friend, my tears are from my heart, I just plain loved him.  We all did.

    Andy is survived by his wife Kathleen, daughters Andrea and Jodi.  Sons-in-law Clint and Martin, grandchildren Alex, Sydney, Emily and Ryan and great granddaughter Olive, his many siblings, their spouses, many nieces and nephews.

  • Gudmund (Gudy) Arne Gudmundseth

    Gudy passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 13, 2026.  He was a proud Viking born in 1945 in Oslo and immigrated to Victoria in 1952 with his parents Anna and Konrad, his sister Kari Roesch and his brother Stein.  Gudy is survived by his wife Angie and their children Louis (Maggie and Carly), Andrew and wife Sarah (Landon, Mason and Ava), Janet and husband Andrew Koza (Leni and Jack), and his brother Stein and wife Carole, (Maya and Kieran), niece Anna Roesch.  

    Gudy was passionate about rugby, playing with Vic High, Oak Bay Wanderers, and U Vic.  Working in the forest industry took him to Honeymoon Bay, and his Cowichan Rugby Club. Soon he found his beloved Maple Bay, and ultimately served as Club president, coach, and instrumental in the purchase and development of Piggy Park.  He played internationally and earned his Canadian Cap vs. Wales in 1973.  

    His Viking roots drew him to the sea, where he landed countless Tyee, and the famous first Humbolt Squid in BC.

    His community spirit extended to being a founding member of the Maple Bay Rowing Club and serving for many years in the Maple Bay Fire Fighters Association of which he became an Honorary Life Member.

    Truly a character larger than life. He will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.

A smiling elderly man with white hair, wearing glasses and an oxygen tube, dressed in a patterned shirt.


  • William J. Murray 1931-2022
    Founder – Player – Captain – President

    With the passing of Bill Murray, we have lost the last of CRFC’s Founders.

    Born in Southampton, England, Bill emigrated to Canada to fill a teaching position in Prince George. He was joined by Anne and eventually moved to the Cowichan Valley to take a teaching position at Cowichan Secondary as a P.E. instructor. He took over the P.E. department, inheriting the soccer program, gymnastics and starting the rugby program that endures to this day. He, along with Derek Hyde-Lay, formed the CV Athletics Club that morphed into the present day CVACS.

    Many of our past players, board members , and presidents were introduced to the game at the high school by Coach Murray. After rugby, Bill took over the role of rowing coach at the Maple Bay Rowing Club for more than 20 years.

    At our rugby club he continued as a supporter and fan watching his own sons wearing the black and green with great enthusiasm. His influence on the success and longevity of our club cannot be overstated. Bill Murray – Coaching Legend!

    Beyond athletics and as a team, Bill and Anne were involved in our larger community contributing hours, months, years to making a difference, to making it better.  He leaves behind a big footprint as being one of the best of our citizens.

    The rugby family passes on our sincere condolences to Anne, Rob, Ian, David, Graham, Rachel, and their families for their loss.

    The players and fans at CRFC will miss that great booming voice heard so many times throughout Piggy Park..

    “C’MON COWICHAN”

A smiling older man with white hair, a beard, wearing sunglasses on his head and a dark jacket outdoors.

  • Our beloved Doug. He was a Piggie through and through and one of the nicest people you meet. A former club executive and 3rds player, Doug was often found on the sidelines cheering on whichever team in the black and green that happened to be playing.