Print
/
Sports
/ Local Sports
/
Lep/Tigers shut out premier women
St. Albert's best game of the season
Ellerslie Rugby Park – Losing by 57 points to the Lep/Tigers was a moral victory for the winless St. Albert premier women’s rugby team.
“It was our best game of the season,” flanker Megan Lauer declared after Saturday’s shutout. “That was the best rugby we’ve played.”
After the Lep/Tigers (2-0-1) tore St. Albert’s defence apart for nine tries in the first half, including four strikes in the opening 13 minutes, the first 15 buckled down and surrendered only one score during an abbreviated second half.
“It was a victory for us to only give up one try,” Lauer said. “We forgot about what happened in the first half. It was a new game in the second half and we played like we could.”
The scoring spree by the Lep/Tigers started in the second minute of play and by the sixth minute it was 10-0.
The closest St. Albert came to scoring in the rain-drenched affair was a mighty romp by fullback Amanda Lalonde before the 10-minute mark. After scooping up a loose ball deep in St. Albert’s end, a determined Lalonde galloped past several defenders. She was eventually caught from behind after crossing the Lep/Tigers’ 22-metre line. After the close call the Lep/Tigers tightened up defensively to regain possession before marching back down the field for their third try.
Lalonde made a ton of try-saving tackles in the first half to keep the score somewhat respectable. The MVP and scoring star of the 2009 St. Albert Blues also had a desperation kick to relieve pressure from outside the try line bounce right into the hands of a defender. The turnover was quickly converted into a try.
Brianne Tetz was another tackling machine on the wing. Tara Sliwkanich showed good form in the centres and Katie Davis did an admirable job filling in for the injured Laura Tod (shoulder) at scrum-half.
Lauer, 22, also played with an edge against the bigger and older Lep/Tigers. Twice in the second half referee Sandy Nesbitt halted play to have a chat with the feisty forward. The second timeout followed a scuffle away from the play that was instigated by the member of the Alberta Pandas. As the Lep/Tigers came within a whisker of scoring on the left side of the pitch, players from both teams worked on separating the two combatants.
“I finished my tackle and she got really mad because other players had been hitting the 10 [standoff] over and over. She wrapped her arm around my neck and bulldogged me into the ground so I just came up, grabbed her jersey and popped her one in the face,” said a grinning Lauer. “My emotions were just high in that game.”
Lauer’s spirited effort personified a gallant second half by St. Albert. Defensively the firsts put a stop to the long scoring runs that plagued them in the opening 40 minutes. Most of the action after halftime unfolded in the middle of the greasy pitch as the Lep/Tigers struggled pushing the ball forward. They eventually grinded out a try.
“That’s the best defence we’ve played all season. It was awesome,” Lauer said. “We started communicating a lot better than we did in the first half. We started winning rucks too. We also supported each other really well.”
Throughout the match the players soldiered on despite the heavy downpour, biting wind and bone-chilling temperatures. When the snow started flying, a quick whistle by the cold-looking Nesbitt ended the proceedings.
“Even though we lost we’re still pretty positive,” Lauer said. “Mentally and physically we’re trying to prepare ourselves better.”
Previous blowouts were 67-13 by the Druids of Strathcona (1-1) and 116-0 by the Calgary Irish (1-0-1), the defending provincial champions.
“Moving up to premier [after three years in the second division following a winless 2006 stint in premier] has been a learning experience for us,” Lauer said. “It’s been a challenging season but I think we have the potential to play in this league.”
St. Albert’s second division team in the Edmonton Rugby Union (ERU), bolstered by a core of premier players, was also roughed up by the Lep/Tigers (1-2) 55-7 and Crude/West (3-0) 61-0 to kick off the fixtures.
Last year the Blues finished 13-1 overall as the ERU pennant winners (10-1), playoff champions and provincial gold medallists. The Reds, a developmental St. Albert side in the second division, was seventh at 2-9.
“It’s been tough, a little bit tough emotionally coming from a season where we lost only one game,” said Lauer, a valuable contributor to the Blues’ triple-crown campaign.
The high school rugby product of the Paul Kane Blues was used mainly on the wing last year but switched to flanker on the advice of Pandas’ coach Matt Parrish.
“He said I would make a good flanker and I should try it out in the summer,” she said. “I’m now learning what the forwards are all about.”
The firsts and seconds scrum down Saturday at Ellerslie. The seconds play the Rockers (3-0) at 1 p.m. and the firsts tackle the Druids at 5 p.m.
Comments
Be the FIRST to comment!