The dress rehearsal for the Gareth Jones Cup showcased St. Albert’s high school rugby talent in Saturday’s exhibition between the Bellerose Bulldogs and Paul Kane Blues.
The 22-7 Bellerose victory set the stage for the May 5 showdown on the premier pitch at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
“We’re really excited. We’re hoping to bring it back to Bellerose this year,” said Alex Hanna, a Grade 12 eight-man for the Bulldogs. “We’re definitely going to come out hard and try and bring a better match than today that’s for sure.”
Paul Kane lacked bodies because of injuries and absences but still gave Bellerose a good game.
“Bellerose is a pretty good team. We were outnumbered but we did the best with what we had,” said Zach Dreger, a Grade 12 prop for the Blues. “It was fun. They’re nice kids and a nice team. They fight hard and they won.”
Paul Kane now has a better idea what Bellerose will bring to the table when they square-off in the metro Edmonton division two/three pool A showdown at 6:15 p.m. in front of what is expected to be a standing-room only crowd on the sprawling three-tier deck.
At stake are bragging rights as the keeper of the Gareth Jones Cup. The symbolic trophy of rugby excellence honours the godfather of St. Albert rugby, one of the founding Nervous Nine members of SARFC and the first president.
Bellerose was the inaugural 2012 winner at the first and so far only St. Albert high schools’ tournament. Paul Kane is the current cup holder after league triumphs of 12-11 in 2013 at the Pirates Rugby Club and 31-0 last year at SARFC.
“It will be good. We kind of got to know who they are and we’ll use that to help us play them the next time,” Dreger said. “Hopefully, we’ll have enough guys for it.”
Both teams kicked off the league fixtures earlier in the week with shutout decisions at SARFC.
Bellerose racked up 54 points against the Memorial Marauders of Stony Plain as Chris Gillett rattled off tries to start off the first and third quarters.
“We played really good. We had a few mistakes but we really played as a team. We really came together that game, said Hanna, the Bulldogs’ man of the match.
Dreger and Michael Webb, a pair of football players from the 2015 metro Edmonton division one Carr finalists, scored two tries apiece as Paul Kane beat the Spruce Grove Panthers by 44 points.
“We had enough guys, which was good,” Dreger said. “We’re a pretty athletic team when we have everyone. When we’re working together we can do it but when we’re outnumbered it’s pretty hard.”
Saturday’s friendly on a cold and dreary afternoon saw Bellerose lead 15-0 at halftime on tries by Ben Miller in the opening quarter and Liam Douglas and Ben Manchester in the second quarter.
Julian Pawlychka, another Paul Kane football player, scored a try under the posts and Mo Munye kicked the conversion in the third quarter.
Bellerose also played the latter part of the quarter a man short when Gillett was sentenced to the sin bin behind the posts after providing his interpretation of the laws of rugby to referee Liam Hutchinson.
Kieran Embury’s try and Austin Mazzolini-Flynn’s conversion in the fourth quarter for Bellerose rounded out the scoring.
The Bellerose man of the match co-recipients were Embury at forward and Douglas in the backs.
“It was a good hard game,” Hanna said. “We had our fair share of mistakes, which we want to clean up before our next game, but overall I think both teams played pretty good.”
Hanna, 17, believes Bellerose is in good shape for a long playoff run after going 3-3 as division three semifinalists last year.
“We’re definitely not the biggest size-wise for guys but we’ve been conditioning pretty hard so I would like to think we have a pretty speedy team,” he said.
Paul Kane is coming off a 4-2 showing last year as division two semifinalists with a more experienced rugby lineup.
“We’ve got some new guys, including me, and we’re still trying to figure out the game,” said Dreger, an offensive lineman, who will join Pawlychka, a defensive lineman, on the north team for the 27th annual Senior Bowl High School Football All-Star Game on May 23 at Commonwealth Stadium.
“I like rugby. I get to carry the ball, that’s the biggest thing. It’s fun. You tackle low. It’s a lot different and it will take some getting used to but I still like football,” added Dreger, 17.
Paul Kane scrums down today against Memorial at 4:45 p.m. at SARFC.
The next match for Bellerose is Monday against the Jasper Place Rebels at 4:45 p.m. at SARFC.
