The godfather of St. Albert rugby was almost speechless when it was announced the first high school rugby tournament in the city would be named in his honour.
“I was very humbled. It was very special indeed,” said Gareth Jones, one of the founding ‘Nervous Nine’ members and the first president of the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
The Gareth Jones St. Albert High School Rugby Tournament was a huge success Saturday, with more than 120 males and females from the Bellerose Bulldogs, Paul Kane Blues and St. Albert Skyhawks competing in the round-robin tournament format.
“There is nothing better than seeing young people, not only participating in their sport but also enjoying it as much as they have out here today,” Jones said. “It takes me back to 1980 when we first started rugby in Paul Kane and it’s nice to see all three high schools are now going strong with both male and female teams.”
Jones even taught some of the coaches how to play the game when they were teenagers, including Bellerose men’s field general Taylor Sedgewick who played on the first St. Albert high school team at Paul Kane.
“Not only are there coaches here today that I’ve coached, but there are a lot of parents here that I’ve coached who have kids playing now,” said Jones.
The proud Welshman credits Roger Scott – the driving force behind the popular junior high co-ed flag rugby program and the boys’ and girls’ sevens teams at Lorne Akins School – for starting his coaching career in St. Albert.
Rugby was first introduced in St. Albert at Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1961-62 by Myrddin Jones, but the internal program at the elementary school ceased when Myrddin moved away.
The game was resurrected in St. Albert upon the request of Scott, a physical education teacher at the time, and he recruited Jones to help coach the Paul Kane team.
“It was Roger who really got me out to start rugby in Paul Kane and he is still involved with the program in Lorne Akins. He has been around for 30-odd years as well, teaching young people rugby,” Jones said. “Roger is also part of that whole package when it comes to rugby in St. Albert.”
Jones and Scott donated both the men’s and women’s championship trophies for the tournament. And the competition was fierce to see who would win the coveted hardware.
“It’s very early in the season but I’ve seen a lot of very, very good talent here today,” Jones said. “In fact looking back, the level of rugby has improved in the high schools, which is good too to see, and that’s because of the things happening in the junior highs like Lorne Akins, where they’re playing at a much younger age. Our junior program at the club, through U10s and U12s and so on, that’s helped, too. They now have the skills at a much earlier age, which is just excellent, and those kids are coming through into the senior ranks at the club.”
Watching the next generation of St. Albert rugby stars brought back cherished memories for Jones.
“Obviously your mind goes back to what’s happened over the years. I can remember four players who came through the high school system here in different decades who went on to play for Canada,” he said. “You also start thinking about all those years that have been spent, not just by myself but with all the other people involved in rugby in St. Albert. It really has been worth it.”
The rugby tournament was the latest in a long line of accolades and accomplishments for the former hooker with the storied Carmarthen Harlequins, one of the first rugby clubs in Wales. The Alberta Rugby Hall of Fame inductee in 2005 also refereed a match between England and Canada and was one of the officials for matches involving Canada against France and the United States.
“Growing up, rugby was everything from the age eight and up, and today the sport still means a lot to me, especially on days like today.”
