For the first time in several years the Big Sky Rugby Union title appears truly to be up for grabs.
Though competitive balance should rule the day in the Senior boys rugby circuit, the league title still goes through the defending provincial champion Holy Trinity Academy Knights.
Few remnants remain from the Knights’ first Tier I provincial title a year ago, however.
“We’re young. We have no Grade 12s and not many Grade 11s,” said Knights head coach Joe Buck. “We’re not thinking it’s a building year. We want to play and are going to need to play now. That’s the attitude the boys have.
“We don’t make any excuses, the game is there to be played and the boys want to play to win.”
The Knights had an embarrassment of riches on the pitch last season in U17 national player Reid Watkins and provincial reps Peter Hillman, James Read and Ryan Hassler, among many others, all of whom graduated from the school in the 2012 class.
The keys to the HTA fortune have been turned over to a new core group of players.
Grade 11 backs Cristian Sprague, Christian Nori, Ben Brown and Miles Pawlivski and forward Joel Visser and will provide the much-needed veteran experience on the youthful HTA team.
Buck, also the head coach of the Foothills Lions U15 club team, will see several Lions players enter the Knights fray as Grade 10s, including the likes of Jazz Singh and Riley Westhaver.
Given the roster turnover and the continuing development of rugby in the foothills, Buck said he expects the league to be as competitive as ever this season.
“We’ve been at the top for a long time and everyone is always up to play us and that’s the challenge that’s put before us,” Buck said. “I’d imagine there will be some good teams out there. Foothills will be good, (Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School) will be good, Banff is always good.
“So kudos to the Big Sky Rugby Union because it’s really healthy. There are some really good, quality teams.”
Foothills Falcons
After a promising start to their campaign the Foothills Falcons are dreaming big in the Big Sky Rugby Union.
The Falcons took home the Irish Icebreaker tournament title over the weekend in Calgary, picking up victories over St. Francis, Father Lacombe and Lester B Pearson.
“We went undefeated and ended up in first which was great,” said Falcons head coach Steve Wager. “It’s very encouraging because I consider those very strong teams. Really, anytime we’re involved with teams from Calgary it’s very competitive.”
Foothills, in search of its first victory over the rival Knights since 2007, should see strong competition in league play this season as well. The Knights and Falcons meet in regular season play on May 2 at HTA.
“HTA is a well coached team so it’s always a good rivalry and a good game,” said Wager, who expects a strong league top-to-bottom. “The good thing about it is rugby is growing in the community and is staying strong.”
The Falcons boast a good balance at the forwards and backs positions with a good mix from Grade 10 to 12 players.
“We should have a fairly good roster with the boys that are coming back, the returning team so we have a very good base,” Wager said. “And then with the new boys that have joined they’re eager to learn and play.”
Key incumbents include back Thomas Kurth and Jamie Irving. Grade 11 Falcon Cody Thompson, a star linebacker and wrestler at the school, will also be bringing his tackling prowess to the scrum-half position.
Grade 10s Brenden Hansen, Nick Klassen and Riley Wight bring veteran experience as members of the Foothills Junior Lions Academy.
“Because of the Lions Junior team anytime they reach the high school level their experience with the Lions helps,” Wager said. “And even some of these Grade 10 boys that have never played are turning out awesome.”
STS Spartans
The Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) Spartans won’t be straying from their trademark formula of highly organized open play.
“We have a scheme in place that relies on moving the ball and keeping the ball moving,” said Spartans head coach Chris Ruskay. “We like to play a wide-open style and that won’t change. That’s our philosophy and we will continue with that.
“We just like to keep the ball moving either kicking, passing or running whatever we can do. We just want to play free flowing rugby.”
Key players for the Spartans include Senior fly-half Brett de Bie, a veteran of the Calgary Hornets rugby program, along with Jordan Hutchings.
Fourth-year scrum-half John Kirchman will also be relied on to keep the ball moving for STS.
The Spartans program is strong in numbers again with approximately 50 players on board the JV and senior teams.
“We’re actually fairly balanced,” Ruskay said. “We have about 15 or 18 in each grade and usually there tends to be a big number in one grade.”
Grade 11 back MacLean Clark and flanker Connor Vaandering could be poised for big seasons after graduating from the JV ranks.
“They’ve played a couple years in the JV program and they’re certainly ready to play,” Ruskay said.
The Spartans narrowly missed out on a Tier II provincial berth last year as their comeback against the Banff Bears in the zone final came up two points short.
“The goal is always to win Tier II provincial championship and everything stems from that,” Ruskay said. “And we have a regular season game with HTA, who we haven’t seen at the varsity level for a couple year, so that’s going to be a big showdown for us.”
The Spartans and Knights renew acquaintances May 9 at STS.
Oilfields Drillers
The Oilfields Drillers will again enter the Big Sky Rugby Union with the deck stacked against them.
“We’re very small, we have some very good athletes and just have to use the size we have as quickly as we can possibly use it,” said Drillers coach Sandy Irving. “We don’t have the mass to stand up to some of the bigger boys.”
Depth is not a position of strength for the Drillers who will need all hands on deck carrying about 17 players in the 15s rugby league.
“It’s the same old story,” Irving said. “Injuries are just a killer for us.”
Fortunately for Oilfields, they will feature a Grade 12 heavy team with as many as eight Seniors on the roster, including number 8 Branden Powell and scrum-half Cole Perrault.
“Some of those guys played in Grade 9 and have been around for a while so we have a couple of good players,” Irving said. “And some of our Grade 12s are rookies. So it’s the same old story, every other sport expires and the last month of the last year, they play rugby.”
Grade 11 backs Ajay Bains, Lincoln Boehmer and Lee Ouellette are expected to shoulder more responsibility and be big contributors this season.
The Drillers opened their 2012 Big Sky Rugby Union quest in fine form, earning a 41-5 win over the Chestermere Lakers, Thursday in Black Diamond.
“We want to win it all. We start with that premise every year that we’re in to do the best we possibly can,” Irving said. “We’ll let the chips fall where they may, but our guys are very good about bucking up and leaving it all on the field.”
