Lessons were learned by St. Albert’s premier men’s rugby team after getting schooled by the Strathcona Druids.
And in the next match the firsts played textbook rugby to pound the Calgary Irish 54-17 in the Alberta Cup fixtures last Saturday.
“It was an improvement from the Druids game. It was definitely a big step up. We had a point to prove and hopefully we got back on track a bit,” said Johnny Moloney, a six-foot-five second-row Irishman. “We learned a lot from the Druids game. We just didn't ruck against the Druids and we knew we had to improve our rucking and give cleaner ball to Sam (Norris). That was our biggest problem. We weren't giving clean ball and nine (scrum-half) and 10 (standoff) weren’t able to function without us rucking hard in the forwards.”
Norris scored two tries against the Irish after the team’s rough outing against the Druids (3-0) in Sherwood Park. The firsts failed to cross the try line in the 23-9 loss.
“It was a lot better improvement. We turned up. We wanted to play,” said the 22-year-old import scrum-half from Tauranga, New Zealand. “The scoreboard showed how well we did play better.”
Unlike the first match against the Irish (0-4) last month in Leduc, a 57-3 whipping in which the firsts led 31-3 at halftime, the score at the break in Calgary was 21-17.
“We definitely gave them time to get back into the game. We got ahead and then we took the foot off the pedal thinking it would be the same game as the Leduc game and that's the rock we perish on. They came back at us very quickly,” Moloney said.
The firsts are 2-2 with tough matches on tap against the top two premier teams. They play the second-place Calgary Saints (3-1) today at 3:30 p.m. at Calgary Rugby Park and the Calgary Hornets (3-0), the two-time defending Labatt’s Cup provincial champions, next Saturday at 4 p.m. at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
The firsts are winless in five matches against the Hornets. The stretch of futility includes the 2009 provincial final to end St. Albert’s undefeated season and the 2011 championship showdown that squashed an 11-game winning streak by the firsts.
“We just have to stick to our game plan. Nothing really changes week to week, it’s just the work rate,” said Moloney, 32. “Obviously they’re going to be a bigger, fitter and faster team and we need to be equal with them in every department. That's the main thing.”
Injuries have reduced the men’s ranks to the bare minimum as coaches scrambled this week to field a starting 15 in Thursday’s second division match against the Pirates and Friday’s third division match against the Leduc Crude – scores were unavailable at press time - and today’s contest in Calgary.
The firsts are breaking in several young talented players and Norris is the latest recruit to play premier. He is the third player to quarterback the team at scrum-half this year and the first to appear in back-to-back matches.
“We’re like a young team trying to coming together but it’s coming together a lot better now,” Norris said. “There were phases (against the Irish) we can improve on but it’s still the start of the season so we’re still getting into it.”
The rail-thin Norris got banged up pretty good by the physical Druids in his debut on Canadian soil.
“It was my first game back from footy for a while,” said the University of Otago student. “I think I’ve gotten better.”
Norris is pleasantly surprised by the brand of rugby he is experiencing.
“I’m loving it. It’s a lot bigger over here than I thought it would be,” he said. “It’s a good group of lads and a very good rugby club. It’s pretty welcoming. It’s a lot of fun.”
