Springing over Springbank

Times Reporter    

 

The boys and girls rugby squads of Strathmore High School will travel to Chestermere High School on May 9 for their next regular season games. This comes after both teams defeated Springbank High School at home on April 30; a 55-10 victory the boys, and a 20-12 victory for the girls.

“It went very well,” boys coach Brad Steele said. “They handled the ball well – that’s something we were trying to improve on from our last game that we played in the snow. So they made nice passes and they were aggressive.”

Steele’s rookies have learned a lot from watching the team’s veterans, but still see some action as well.

“Every body gets in the game, but not always the same amount of time,” Steele said.

As for the battle against Chestermere, Steele knows they will be up against a lot of size and strength.

“If we handle the ball, we’ll do okay – and if we keep possession. We have a good group of players. We just can’t make errors,” he said.

Jerry Flaws, girls coach, believes his ladies still have a lot to work on after the win over Springbank, but are starting to understand the sport.

“We’ve just got to work on our defensive system and get organized,” Flaws said. “Also, maintaining ball control – every time there’s a breakdown or a tackle, maintaining possession. We’ve turned it over a few times, and you can’t do that.”

The girls also traveled to Vulcan on May 2 for a tournament game, dropping 17-5.

“I think by the end of the year, we’ll beat them. It was a close game, well played, but we just missed a couple of tackles and they scored,” Flaws said. “Their young players have an advantage. They play three years – junior high and high school. Our new players are brand new.”

Following the game against Vulcan, the Strathmore High School girls shut out Eagle Butte High School in another tournament game 38-0. The girls were scheduled to have two more matches, but were snowed out.