Steele wins CIS rugby final

Times Reporter   

 

Last year, at the rugby CIS finals, Strathmore’s Elizabeth Steele and the University of Alberta Pandas lost to the University of Guelph Gryphons, for a third place finish. On Nov. 3, the third-seeded Pandas earned their redemption, beating Guelph for CIS gold, 29-10 in Laval, QC.

A graduate of Strathmore High School in 2011, the 20-year-old science student is in her third season of eligibility. Steele’s Pandas were 4-0 this season, and won their second consecutive Canada West final against the University of Calgary Dinos on Oct. 20 to earn a berth in CIS.

“We did have a very mature team this year,” Steele said, of her many fifth and sixth year teammates. “I’m in the middle of my career, just going over the hill, but we didn’t have as many rookies this year. A lot of maturity.”

Steele, who usually plays second row or back row, feels this level of experience assisted the team in capturing the team’s first national championship since 2003.

“I definitely think it helped us a lot, we’ve all played together for a number of years now, so we’ve gelled,” she said.

For 2014, 10 senior players will be leaving the 32-player roster. A repeat will be difficult, but is doable.

“Next year, the dynamic is definitely going to be a lot different. We also had a lot of depth on our team; you could make substitutions, and you wouldn’t notice a difference on the field,” Steele said. “We still have a lot of mature players – a lot of girls in my year, and we also have injured players coming back who can play again. It’ll change, but since we’ve seen what it takes to get to CIS, and have tasted winning it before, I think we’ll still be able to have that drive and want it.”

Steele’s father, Brad Steele, started her in the sport at age 12. She went on to play for Strathmore High School, and this year was named to Rugby Alberta’s U23 team.

“There are good leaders in Strathmore for rugby,” she said of her father Brad, Jerry Flaws, and Kyle Larson at Strathmore High School. “The rugby community in Strathmore isn’t very big, it’s harder to travel to Calgary to play. The high school has done a really good job of promoting it; I think it has the most number of people on the teams out of all the sports.“