Ellerslie Rugby Park – The fantastic firsts won a date with destiny as the Ken Ann Cup north champions for the sixth time in seven years.
Last year's provincial finalists from the St. Albert Rugby Football Club will lock horns with the reigning champion Calgary Hornets after surviving a fierce battle with the Strathcona Druids.
The Labatt's Cup showdown kicks off Saturday at 4:15 p.m. at Calgary Rugby Park.
"This is unreal! It's my first year here and I can't wait to play in the provincial final next week. All the boys will be up for it. It will be awesome," said fullback Shea O'Hallahan with glee following the titanic 19-5 struggle with the Druids in last weekend's playoff rumble.
The only Labatt's Cup in SARFC history was celebrated in style in 2010.
The lads are also under pressure to equal the women's provincial conquest as Alberta Rugby Union second division champions.
"We'll take it upon our shoulders to get the job done," vowed a determined O'Hallahan.
In previous provincial showdowns between the powerhouses of premier men's rugby the Hornets – winners of three Labatt's Cups in a row and four in the past five years – were victorious in 2009 (24-22 upset of the undefeated firsts), 2011 (31-13 to end an 11-game winning streak by the 2010 champions) and 2013 (47-10 rout after leading 18-3 at halftime). All three finals were staged at Ellerslie.
"We respect them but we don't fear them," stated Jo Hull, head coach of the 13-1 firsts.
Last year's provincial result was a bitter pill for the firsts to swallow.
"We don't even need to talk about last year because for us the focus is on this year and we know what we need to do," Hull said. "Going into the final I asked for three building blocks this year and we've had two and we're going to get the third next week."
In May the firsts slammed the brakes on an eight-game losing skid against the Hornets (9-5) with a 24-23 come-from-behind thriller in Calgary.
"We beat them once this year and when push comes to shove I don't think I would want to be the guy that wants to bet against us," said Graham Noren, a grizzled eight-man and captain of the 2010 champions. "I'm really confident in the squad that we have. Jo's training and Jo's mentality is sort of filtering throughout the guys. It's a real tight knit group and it showed today. We gutted it out and we played with a lot of heart."
The north final brought out the best in the firsts for their sixth consecutive win of the season.
"We played one of the better games we've played all year," O'Hallahan said. "It was a hard-fought game. Straight from the start we knew we had to bring it to them up front and we did. The forwards put on a huge display for us."
In the first half, the Druids (8-6) matched the physicality of the firsts with most of the hand-to-hand combat waged between the 22-metre lines.
"We knew coming in the Druids would be a tough team. They're the only team to beat us this season (13-8 on Druids Day in Sherwood Park) and we had a pretty tight affair the second time we played them (32-22 at SARFC) so we knew they were going to be game for it and they were," Noren said.
The firsts tightened up defensively whenever the Druids pushed their way deep into enemy territory but as the first half wound down the lads spent more time with the ball on the opposition's side of the halfway line.
Rough play
In the 31st minute, Adam Gowing had a full head of steam going toward the 22 when the standoff was rocked by Liam Mills. Gowing suffered a broken nose in the nasty collision and Mills was yellow carded and sentenced to the sin bin. Antony Fitch filled in for Gowing while the former Druid received medical attention.
When play resumed, the fired-up firsts drove the Druids back to their try line and Irish import Jason Carton finished off a strong display of rucking to open the scoring in the 35th minute. Fitch kicked the conversion.
In the 38th minute, the Druids kicked a penalty from between the 40- and 22-metre lines but the ball hit the post and bounced out.
"In the first half they were playing their game to a T. They slowed our ball down. We like to play a pretty pacey game, a fast game, and at the breakdowns a couple of players really slowed us down," Noren said. "Even though we started a little slow in true St. Albert fashion we came out after the half and had a third and fourth gear and we were able to pull away."
The Druids were fired up to start the second half and it took them only two minutes to plow their way into the try area but the conversion was unsuccessful.
In the 53rd minute, the shifty O'Hallahan exploited a loose defensive alignment for a lengthy try and Fitch's conversion make it 14-5.
"I got a good pass from Jake (Robinson, the scrum-half), he knows where to find me on the field, and I managed to get through a gap," O'Hallahan said.
Five minutes later, the firsts swung the ball out wide for Irish import Conor Power to light up the Druids down the wing for the team's third try. Fitch was unable to split the post on the difficult conversion.
"That second try kind of settled it," Hull said of O'Hallahan's effort. "Conor was huge today and our halfbacks, Jake and Adam at 10 (standoff), did a great job. When Fitch came on at 10 he was outstanding again. It was seamless."
The Druids gradually wilted away as the firsts cranked it up.
"That second half was a lot of heart and a lot of patience. They came out strong but our boys kept their control and composure. Our forwards did a great job at the breakdown and the execution was there," Hull said. "We got some really nice shape in the second half and we kept attacking and once we got two tries pretty close together, I think their confidence built. I'm just really proud of them."
Once the firsts established advantage in the second half it was game over for the Druids.
"We just pushed them into the corners. Our quick chases were unreal and our forwards just pushed them back over and over again. We didn't give them any chances and that was kind of the game," said O'Hallahan.
Valuable player
The 23-year-old New Zealander is another prized recruit for the firsts and because his mom was born in Canada he is not listed as an import. The member of the Calgary-based Prairie Wolfpack in the Canadian Rugby Championship circuit played high school rugby at Hauraki Plains College, followed by a season in North Harbour before hooking up with Thames Valley in the Heartland competition in New Zealand.
"I was playing out in Vancouver and I met (SARFC standout) Kyle Gilmour and he convinced me to sign up. I had family out here so I said no worries," said O'Hallahan, a UBC Old Boys Raven who played a couple of games for Grande Prairie a few years ago. "It's fairly physical rugby here and the level is very high."
O'Hallahan was among 11 players in the north final who were not on the team's 22-man roster for last year's provincial tilt. A deep talent pool helped ease the loss of injured starters Brett Kelly (knee), the heart and soul captain of the firsts and an imposing physical presence in the forwards, and winger Duncan Maguire (ankle) of the Canada 7s program. The team was also coping with the absence of Gilmour, a flanker who is training with Canada in preparation for the Americas Rugby Championship this month in Langford, B.C.
Veteran forward Byron Elliott also made a huge impact when he subbed on in the second half and had a key assist on Power's try.
"We would love to have guys like Kyle Gilmour, Duncan Maguire and Brett Kelly in the lineup, and you can't describe what Brett Kelly brings to a team, but with any guy I'm 100 per cent confident they can do the job. They've earned the shirt that they're wearing right now," said Noren, 30. "A winning culture brings players to us and every year we're deep and this year is no different. Throughout the year we lose guys to Wolfpack and Canada and that's why some of us like to call (SARFC) the rugby factory. From high school, we bring guys up through the juniors and men's and the culture around the club is such that at any given time we can slot guys in and slot guys out and guys can move up from seconds and not miss a beat."
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to view the Ken Ann Cup team picture.
