STE-ANNE'S RFC IN SARANAC: Report & photos Trough the eyes of Myth and Legend by Lester Simnpson                  4th August 2009

 

     

Once again the long awaited Canam Rugby tournament in Saranac Lake has arrived and gone. Along with Scotty and myself playing for the Myths and Legends ( Over 45's) SABRFC was also represented at the Tournament by a highly motivated group of Under 21 players, organized by Will and Marc. They were experiencing Saranac for the first time and one can only hope that it will not be the last. And finally, we must not omit Old School who was getting his feet wet with the Ottawa Senators over 80's.

 

   
    For old fogies like myself, the beauty of this tournament is two fold: Enjoying the surroundings of the Adirondack mountains and all their splendour;  and,  getting together with old friends. The Myths and Legends team has grown from a long and

fruitful relationship between the Bytown Blues and Ste-Annes' players since the early eighties when the travelling team was known as the " Rock 'n' Roll Rebels ".

 

 

Ste-Anne's players were invited to turn out for the team in numerous tournaments from California to the New Orleans Mardi Gras to Georgia and of course Saranac. Scotty has probably had the biggest impact on the team over the years with his great scrum half play. We were joined this year once again by Steve Rainboth who flies in from Vancouver every year and this time he brought along his son for the experience. Also, we had Steve Jamieson, brother of Graham, who made the trip as always and we were joined at last, after so many promises by former Ste-Anne's stalwart Jeff Mallet, current President of the Ajax Wanderers. Other players for the Myths had come from St-Louis (Rene Monette and his wife former Ste-Anne's player Elinor Friedman ) from Florida, Ottawa , Toronto and others. Stuart Creagh, who played for many years with the Rebels made a surprise visit which gave many former teammates a chance to catch up.

 

  
Friday's action started early at 9:00 am with a match against the Green Mountain Geezers where we breezed to a 60-0 score, and considering that the halves are only 22 minutes long that is quite something. It was good to see some of the U 21 players show up to support and watch Old School play in his game.

 

 

Our next game would be in the afternoon against the hosts , Saranac Mountaineers Old Boys. We anticipated a more physical game from them, but we were proved wrong and we pushed  through with a 50-5 score. The other pool had 4 teams including arch rivals Albany and White Plains. It was White Plains who won that pool eventually, and this set-up a final with the Myths on Sunday. In the meantime there would much other Rugby and partying to take place in between.

 

 
 The best part of playing on Friday is the opportunity to party all night and recover on Saturday without having to play. That is of course, unless a sub was needed in the U21's game, who stood up to an over zealous bunch of very chippy players from Union County, who thought they were going to roll over the young Ste-Anne's players. Only a last minute try sealed the victory for Union, but the stellar effort put up by the short handed U21's could have gone the other way. Kevin Macdonald deserves credit in this game for standing up strong in a difficult situation.

 

 
 After a beautiful day on Saturday, the rain returned for Sunday's matches. The Myths would face White Plains for the final of the Over 45 Division. White Plains were a tougher opponent than any other we had faced in our pool, but the experience , ability and heart of the Myth's players proved too much for White Plains. The finals core was 14 - 5 in favour of the Myths.

 

This is the 10th Saranac championship in a row for the team, dating back to wins in the over 35's and over 40's divisions as the guys keep on rolling with age. Thanks again to the  U21's who were vocal in their support and this was greatly appreciated by Scotty and myself, not to mention all the other players, especially given the conditions. I'm sure Old School would concur about the great support, with his victory in the Over 50's consolation final just before our game. Those of us who stuck around for the other finals later on, endured a torrential downpour, but were finally rewarded with  the the appearance of the sun as the finals came to an end.

 

 
This was another satisfying weekend of Old Boys Rugby, and we look forward to next year when hopefully we can enjoy the presence of a full Ste-Anne's Men's and Women's side, and have them both competing for the Championship as they did many years ago. Saranac is close enough to make it a quick drive; yet it is a world away.