The heat is on the St. Albert Rugby Football Club’s premier men to repeat as provincial rugby champions, and they are rising to the challenge without getting burned.
“There is just as much pressure as last year, if not more to win it again,” said Kyle Baillie, an impact player in the SARFC forward corps. “The guys really want it again this year. You can just feel it in the dressing room before games. Everyone gets fired up. They want to keep the legacy going.”
The defending Labatt’s Cup champs are marching in the right direction after dropping three in a row, the longest losing streak by the first 15 since 2006.
“We want to keep on going,” Baillie said. “Hopefully we can pull off another championship this year.”
The fifth straight win by the firsts was last week’s 34-8 romp in Calgary against the Irish (4-4).
“We were missing a few of the guys, so having a big win like that was really nice,” Baillie said. “It shows that we’re starting to tighten things up and get our game plan together. Everyone is starting to know where we are in the field. We’re starting to get connections between the players and it’s really starting to show.”
A strong start put the firsts on top 17-3 at halftime. Kyle Gilmour, a national sevens team player, Baillie and the lightning-fast Duncan Maguire scored tries in the opening 40 minutes.
After a quick try by the Irish in the second half, the firsts roared back with scoring plays by Baillie, Maguire and the underrated Adam Bontus.
“The score doesn’t say it but it honestly felt like it was a tighter game,” Baillie said.
The effort was on par with the team’s previous victory, 51-5 against the Lep/Tigers (4-4). After beating their Edmonton rivals, coach Chal Smyth called it “one of the best performances we’ve had in the four years I’ve been here.”
“Defence was good all around. We weren’t making many holes. We were nice and strong and straight and flat and it really showed because the Irish had some hard runners,” Baillie said. “Our set pieces were really good. They were tight. They were crisp. We didn’t make any errors, like knock-ons, as much as we usually did so there wasn’t a lot of breakdowns, which was nice.”
Karim Lynch, last year’s MVP, quarterbacked the firsts from his fullback position and kicked the stuffing out of the ball. Maguire and Bontus were also double trouble in the backs.
“Our back three was great. Those guys played phenomenal,” Baillie said. “Duncan had some great runs. He had one just off a quick lineout and he ran the whole field and completely broke some ankles along the way.”
Baillie, 20, was another game star who shone in a rare appearance at loosehead prop.
“It was an experience. I’m still hurting,” said the six-foot-five string bean, a second row/back row by trade. “I played it a little bit before but it was a while. When I was in Victoria [with the Castaway Wanderers], I went to a scrum camp with all the Canada guys, so I learned a lot of technique and I tried to implement it into the game and it happened to work out for me, thankfully.”
During the winter, Baillie mainly played second row for Castaway’s first division team in the British Columbia Rugby Union. He started 10 out of 14 games and scored three tries. He later rejoined the firsts for the third game in the premier fixtures.
“I learned a lot out there,” Baillie said of his first season with Castaway. “I did some training with the Canada guys and we had a lot of one-on-one stuff with Canada. I was doing five to six sessions a week and the guys there all bleed experience. Everyone has played a lot with caps with Canada so it was very good.”
Last year, Baillie hooked up with the St. Albert Rugby Football Club after making the move from Summerside, P.E.I. He was a major contributor at second row in the first Labatt’s Cup provincial championship in club history.
“My father lives here. He said they had a great rugby program here,” said Baillie, who works as a landscaper when not on the pitch. “I really enjoyed it here, especially winning provincials.”
Baillie also played for the Newfoundland Junior Rock in the 13-10 victory over the Vancouver Wave in the Rugby Canada U20 national final at St. John’s. It was the first Newfoundland win against a British Columbia opponent at any level of the game.
He also spent time with the senior Rock, the winners of the inaugural 2010 Canadian Rugby Championship.
“I’ve been doing preseason stuff with them and I’m playing against the [Calgary-based Prairie] Wolf Pack on Tuesday. I’m looking forward to it.”
SCRUM BALLS: Second place is at stake next Saturday in the premier table, when the firsts (5-3) visit the Calgary Saints (5-1-1) at 3:30 p.m. at Calgary Rugby Park.
The next home game is Aug. 13 against the Druids (3-4-1) at 4 p.m.