CLASSIC DAY AT CONCORDIA RUGBYFEST:
Juniors enjoy long fun
day 8 July 2009
by Peter Parker and photos Laurie Thomassin
Driving home on Friday night from what must go down in
history as one of the most unlikely of Rugby practices, I couldn't help but smile thinking about the state of our
Club
these days. As Stone has pointed out several times, 2009 has already
been a historic year for SABRFC.
There was the wildly successful Club
tour to Trinidad, memorable (or not so memorable for some over zealous
youngsters) just because everyone made it home alive. There
was the unprecedented registration of 60 men's team players before the FRQ deadline.
This is a feat that is unheard of, until you realize that it took the combined efforts
of none other than Tess Kelly (whom I am sure could run the country
one day as she
seems so at ease with running our Club) and Jean Marie (the most
powerful man in Rugby).
And then of course there is the
Club's flourishing junior program that has really taken off this season. Yes,
for the first time ever at Ste-Anne's Rugby Club we have not one, not
two, but 3 full
junior teams. Under the fearless leadership of Lee Bieber and Jon
Lavery, the Club has fielded a full U-18 boys side, as well
as the U-15 Angels & the U-18 Saints girls' teams.
To bring the story back to my opening, I
was returning from a Friday night practice for these juniors, and I
must explain the
reason the practice was so unlikely. There are few people who can appreciate how
difficult it can be to get 30 teenagers out to practice on a Friday
night when the heavens open and it pours rain. But apparently the Rugby bug has hit
hard at SABRFC and there they were, 25 kids in the pouring rain
getting ready to play 7s on Saturday morning.
It really was a good thing they
showed up , because coach Margie had enlisted the help of The World's
best 7s Player," Joce, to help show the kids the basics of 7-a-side
Rugby. It was a great practice and by the finish of it,
the teams were looking very good (and very very wet), but they
certainly looked set for the
next day's tournament at Concordia.
I was optimistic as I drove home that
Friday night, and knew that everything was set for a great day of
Rugby on the Saturday. One of the great things about coaching with Lee
is that she is just so on top of everything. I knew I could
essentially just show up, yell at the girls a bit, try to get a tan,
and go home. Easy stuff. Lee would take care of all the
administrative work, get the jerseys, fill out the lineup on the
forms, know where and when we were playing, etc..
And the other great thing is the
perennial part of our Club whom you can always count on: Stone. If
there is Rugby to be played, he is always ready to bring water, maybe set up a tent for shade,
and all the other stuff that no one even thinks of. I smiled again: What a
great Club, and Saturday was going to be a great day.
It was somewhere around Lachine when I realized
that I am a loser. It suddenly dawned on me that Lee was on vacation!
Not only that., but Stone was holding hands with
Olney up in the Gaspe.
I turned the car around and headed back to pick
up the jerseys, forms, tent etc, all the while reflecting on how right Joni
Mitchell got it, when she sang "You don't know what you've got till
it's gone." I made a mental note to start paying for all my beers and
food at 23 St-Pierre from now on, instead of mooching.
Anyways, we managed to arrange
everything, and the
girls even showed up on time bright and early at 07:30 Saturday
morning. They were ready for the day. We warmed up briefly and watched our Men's
team lose a heartbreaker to TMR in the first game of the day. Things
looked ominous for the men as they also lost star winger Caza to an
apparent ankle injury. I still have no update on how the ankle is doing, but those
who know Caz will tell you he probably used the ice from the physio in
his drink, and will soon be playing again.
After watching the game, it was time for
our first big match of the day: The Saints vs. Trois Rivieres. The first
half saw some excellent back and forth action, and the Saints seemed
keen to use their newfound "Off load." This is a skill that Joce had taught
them the night before in the hurricane-like weather conditions. But, by the second half, the
older and more experienced girls from up the river ran away with it, 3
tries to 1.
The girls were still in high spirits
coming off the field, and there were more than a couple of promising
performances. Sam was easily the hardest player on the field to bring
down, Alana ran with conviction, and Lise did her best Aaron Graham
impression at scrum half. So it was now off to the sidelines to enjoy what
could be the best part of a Rugby tournament - watching the other games!
It was after the first game that one of
the tried and tested rules of a Rugby tournament became evident. From
my experience, 3 things will undoubtedly happen to you at
the field over the course of a day of Rugby: One, you will likely get a
sunburn; two, things will run late; and three, someone always doesn't show.
The girls won an exciting game against Quebec City. Actually, Quebec
City didn't show up, so the girls played against themselves. But, it's a testament to the
Club's junior program that when everyone else brings one team, ad some
don't even show, we
bring 2!
The Senior men won their second game, with Parky and Engle showing they are more than power players.
They showed some deft handling and clever running. And by clever
running, I mean that the other team was clever to get out of their
way.
Lost in the excitement of the morning
games was the fact that young Andrew Jamieson was playing both senior
and junior, and was starring at both. Bryce could barely make it
through one half of this stuff, while little Jamieson was playing as
though he was half Fijian! But he is very modest and says that he got it
all from his father.
The afternoon saw a lengthy break in the
action to make room for the U-18 Quebec teams to put on extremely
impressive displays against Eastern Ontario, with both teams earning
well deserved wins. In the girls' game the Saints were well represented
as Lexi, Kimmy, Kaleigh, Sam, Tore, and Mel all played well, and Kimmy
scored the try of the day. She took a kickoff 65 yards for the solo
score.
On the boys' side, Nick and Spooner
(Mitch) were awesome, and this certainly seems like one of the best
junior Quebec boys team in a long time.
By 4:30pm the Senior Caribou players were on the
field for the marquee match of the day playing against Greg Thaggert's
Eastern Ontario Harlequins (btw Greg Thaggert is a former SAB player and
coach). The game started out evenly matched, but a spectacular try
came from Scott Gill. He leapt for a ball up and over the opposing full back
from a Yoan cross field kick, while the Ottawa payer was still calling mark.
The try opened
up the game and the Caribou never looked back, winning by 34 - 22.
Just before this Senior game the final of
the 7s senior division was played, with special guest player Jazz Poulin. The boys in white were up against the upstart Laval team, and
had their work cut out for them. But the hard running of Tommy, Engle
and Parky combined with the speed and skill of Bryce, Jazz and Hayden
were simply too much for the Nomades. Throw in the exciting young
Jamieson, Labelle (who seems to score every time he plays) and
Belvedere, and it was a cake walk for Ste Anne's. We took the final by 5
tries to 0. From all accounts, Decaff sat on the bench and whined
about almost everything, but mostly about Jamieson having better hair
than him.
All this competition had
funneled down to one last game, the last of
the day. Sure, for most it was an aftert
hought, but for these two
teams, it meant the world: Ste-Annes vs. Beaconsfield for the Junior
Cup. This was the latest in what has quickly become a heated rivalry
between these two junior programs, and it was Ste-Anne's turn to bask
in the glory. We took the win, and the cup, in a wild game. The look on Micky
"The Body's" face after the game said it all. It may have been the
last game of a very long day, but it was easily the sweetest.
All in all, it was a great day, a true
Rugby day. We all got some sun ( I even managed to get burnt). We were hungry
(thanks Dagwoods), and we all played some great Rugby. It was the kind
of day that Rugby people love. Twelve hours of non-stop playing, watching,
hanging out and meeting other players. It's why we play the game, and it
was a ton of fun. But mostly, I gained a ton of appreciation for all
the work Lee and Stone do and once again, I pledge to pay for all my
beer and food and even leave a tip for the Club!
