The Paul Kane women’s rugby teams dreams of gold were put on hold Thursday with a 35-0 loss to an undefeated Bev Facey squad (3-0) in the metro Edmonton premier semifinals.
Right from the start of the game the Blues fell in an early hole, finishing the first half down 22-0. While Bev Facey would start the second half posting even more points, the Blues were able to punch in a late try with 10 minutes left in the match.
Even though Bev Facey would go on to win the game 34-5, the heart displayed by the Blues until the game’s final whistle was a true testament to the team, according to Blues co-captain, Krysta Florence.
“We stood together as a team even when we were down by a lot, still got a try and pounded it through,” said Florence. “In all we played a heck of a game. It was probably our best game all season.”
While Paul Kane posted a total of 124 points in the regular season, their offence was kept off the scoreboard for most of the game. The sudden change in offensive output did not stem from a lack of fundamentals, according to Blues head coach Marty McKeever.
“We played excellent technically. We executed our game plan to a tee. We had wonderful crash ball from the forwards and we had the backs where they needed to be. It was just some breaks that got us and when they don’t go your way it’s pretty hard to recover sometimes,” said McKeever.
While the metro Edmonton rugby season was shorter than usual with only three games compared to the five usually played, the team learned its playbook quickly. Combined with the growth in knowledge of the team’s rookies, who composed half of the roster, there is a general consensus the year was a success.
“I don’t have any regrets with the season. We are a really close team and we had a lot of rookies this year who really stood out,’ said co-captain Danica Dreger. “We were really fortunate to have the season that we did, along with the help that we did and I don’t regret anything about it.”
Even though a premier championship was their goal, Florence is confident this was the best team she ever played on while she attended Paul Kane.
“Even though we never made it to the championships, this was our best team in the three years I was here for sure,” said Florence.
In the second premier semifinal, the Sturgeon Spirits (2-1) defeated Archbishop O’Leary (1-2) 24-5 to move onto the premier championships. The championship match will be held on Wednesday at Ellerslie field with the Spirits taking on Bev Facey. Kickoff is at 4:45 p.m.
