Confidence over cockiness is the game plan for the Bellerose Bulldogs in the high school women’s rugby playoffs.
“We want to keep a positive attitude and not go in too cocky,” said Grade 12 hooker Amanda Risling, co-captain of the 3-2 (121 PF/109 PA) division one Bulldogs. “We’re going to stay confident with our plays but not try and go over our heads.”
The Bulldogs suffered a reality check in their last loss, 22-17 to the Strathcona Lords.
“That was a game we went in cocky and overconfident. We let it get to our heads,” said Risling, 17. “We started off strong and after a while it got messy and we didn’t pick it back up. Our attitude kind of got in the way so that was a cocky overconfidence.”
Depending on Friday’s result between Strathcona (2-2, 91 PF/114 PA) and the Jasper Place Rebels (0-4, 7 PF/218 PA), the Bulldogs will finish third or fourth in the six-team table and in Thursday’s opening playoff round will scrum down against the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (1-4, 105 PF/231 PA) or the Rebels.
“We’re hoping to go in with high heads,” said Payton MacNeill, a Grade 12 co-captain. “Our coach (Jason Dabbagh) wants us to give maximum efforts.”
A victory by Strathcona against the Rebels would pair the Bulldogs and Thunderbirds together and the winner would advance into the May 29 semifinal against the Bev Facey Falcons (5-0, 270 PF/27 PA), winners of the last five metro Edmonton division one championships.
“We’re supposed to match up with Bev Facey, who we had a pretty sad loss to in the first game of the season but we’re more skilled now. We’ve played a lot of games and a lot of our rookies are really stepping up to the plate so it’s impressive,” MacNeill said.
The 51-5 drubbing by Facey at Riel Recreation Park was basically an exhibition for the joint junior/senior lineup of Bulldogs.
“We had a lot of learning to do but all the girls are very eager,” MacNeill said. “We started off with our Facey loss and we all wanted to get better, which is good to see. None of the girls wanted to quit. They all showed up to practice in the freezing cold and wanted to get better.”
Last year’s team finished 1-2 in the division one pool A fixtures after losing the 2015 final 38-0 to Facey.
“We were supposed to be in division two (this year) and then our coach moved us up into division one because he saw a lot of potential with us and a lot of the girls really stepped up,” said McNeill, one of several St. Albert Skyhawks playing Bellerose rugby. “We’ve always had a pretty good program. We always wanted to be really strong and we’ve always had really strong forwards and our backs always want to get better with their hands so it’s good.”
The transformation since the season opener has the Bulldogs poised to do damage in the playoffs.
“We started off a little bit rough but we’ve come together like a family. It’s such a completely different team than our first game. It’s so much stronger,” said Risling, a third-year Bulldog and one of the few veterans on the roster. “Our first game we were lacking drive, nobody wanted the ball, but now it’s all heart and everybody is in it to play so it’s all about possession all the time.
“To be successful in the playoffs we need to have heart and we need to have possession of the ball and we need strong rucks by getting in there quick and winning the ball.”
The Bulldogs owned the ball while overpowering the Rebels 52-7 Wednesday at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club. The halftime score was 25-7.
Risling, a product of the Nor’Westers, made quick and smart decisions to score three tries and MacNeill was a beast at standoff barging through the Rebels for four tries, including three in the second half.
Keely Mazzolini-Flynn crossed the try line twice and Naomi Godsmark also scored.
“It’s good to have these matches to learn. It gives us a chance for other girls to try new things, especially for next year when we’re losing our senior players. Our Grade 11s and Grade 10s can get in there and try and exhibit things that they can do in the future so it’s great to see,” said MacNeill, 17, a SARFC junior who will play university rugby in the fall with the St. Francis Xavier X-Women.
