Spartans split

Times Reporter   

 

Having lost their first game to Bev Facey Community High School 25-10, the Strathmore High School Spartan girls came back strong an hour later, defeating Old Scona Academic High School 10-0 on April 12 in Edmonton for the Icebreaker Rugby Tournament.

“The name suited this weekend,” said Spartans coach Jerry Flaws.  “The sub-zero temperatures and first game of the year for both teams made for a difficult game.”

The girls showed stronger tackling and ball-handling as the day went on, and showed they could compete against larger city schools.

“They progressed nicely. They went from players having no idea what they were doing, to actually looking fairly organized,” Flaws said of his ten new rookies.

Flaws mentioned that because he’s 60 yards away on the field, he really relies on his returning players to guide them.

“I thought they were brilliant,” he said. “They brought the young players along with them. They really led. That’s the whole goal of this tournament is to get the new players to learn the game. The veterans are telling them where they need to be – they’re the boss on the field.”

The Spartans will have faced Foothills Composite High School at home on April 16, before the time of print. Before that, Flaws and the girls will be working on organization.

“Now that they’ve figured out what rugby is about, now they’ll understand what we’re trying to do in practice,” he said. “We’ll break it down, and move through at 25 per cent of the speed. It’ll be a lot of repeating until the light bulb goes off.”

Strathmore High School will have their next game following Spring Break on April 30 at home. The girls are also hosting rugby provincials this year.