The St. Albert men’s rugby teams will scrum down this year with a new field general at the controls.
Gareth Scott replaces head coach Chal Smyth, the architect of the first premier men’s provincial championship in St. Albert Rugby Football Club history in 2010.
“I’m very excited. I want to win, that’s what it’s all about,” Scott said after Sunday’s training session at Paul Kane High School. “I’m not just concentrating on the first team either. I’m going to ensure the seconds and the thirds and the juniors have healthy programs, too.”
Smyth left SARFC after guiding the first 15 to their fourth straight provincial final last year. The 31-13 loss to the Calgary Hornets in the final was only the 10th defeat in 61 matches by the firsts under his watch.
The Edmonton Rugby Union’s coach of the year in 2009 has resurfaced with his former club, the Strathcona Druids.
“Chal wanted to make his change and go to the Druids, which will be good for him and good for the Alberta Rugby Union because the Druids will be better,” said SARFC president Matt Herod.
The versatile scrumhalf/fullback with the firsts and seconds is confident SARFC will still maintain its high standard of play on the pitch despite the coaching change.
“I don’t think we’re going to miss a step by any means, but it will definitely be different,” Herod said. “We still have a lot of the same players, but we’ll run things differently. We’ll have different game plans and we’ll break down games differently.”
Scott has strong coaching ties with SARFC in a variety of capacities.
“As far as Chal is concerned he had his style and I have mine,” said the former hooker with the Clansmen. “Things are going to be a little bit more positive around here. There has been a slow decline in players throughout the last four years for reasons. If we can have 60 plus registered players that’s my goal, whereas the last couple of years it hasn’t been that way.”
Scott is encouraged by the talent pool of SARFC juniors.
“St. Albert has had very strong under-16, under-18 types of programs. A lot of the boys have played Alberta level rugby. Once they’re eligible after high school and all that [junior] stuff is finished, I’m hoping to bring them up into men’s rugby in the third division and maybe fast-track them,” he said.
The league fixtures start May 5, with the seconds and thirds tentatively scheduled to make their season debuts. The firsts are expected to ruck and maul May 12 in Sherwood Park against the Druids.
“Some guys are going to be coming back late at the beginning of the season so we’re going to be stretched a little bit, but that is also going to give some of the younger guys a crack at the first team,” Scott said.
The firsts will kick off the season without Karim Lynch in the line-up. The standout fullback from Britain is staying home this year.
The status of all-star flanker Kyle Gilmour, scrumhalf Jake Robinson and speedster Duncan Maguire is also unclear. The trio are currently playing in Australia.
Among several notable returnees on the firsts is eight-man Brett Kelly, the ERU’s most valuable player in 2011.
The seconds are also gearing up for another winning campaign after reaching the ERU semifinals under the direction of captain Sean LeLacheur and scoring threat David Owen.
A number of imports at key positions have already committed to playing for SARFC this season.
“We want to be really competitive in the firsts and seconds again. As for the thirds, just by the amount of people we’ve seen and the old boys who have come back, we feel we’ll actually be quite strong,” Herod said.
The men’s teams will play most of their matches at home prior to Aug. 1, when the SARFC fields will become unavailable for approximately two years as the city tears them up to cap the landfills underneath.
“Those points at the beginning we have to win because you never know what is going to happen on the road,” Herod said. “We’ve got most of our players who will be here at the beginning of the season so we shouldn’t be getting off to a slow start.”
Last year the firsts (11-4) dropped three straight to start the season, then won 11 in a row before losing their third provincial final in four years.
“We’ve got to start living up to our name as a club to fear. Soon we’re going to be looked at as maybe like the Buffalo Bills, always a strong team with fans always there to support you, but eventually you have to start bringing home some hardware for the people who support us all year long,” Herod said.
