St. Albert kept it simple on the second division pitch Saturday to defeat the Strathcona Druids in the Edmonton Rugby Union.
“We played basic rugby today,” said Frank Lucas after the 17-15 decision. “We played as a team, we kept our communication up and our forwards were moving forward so the backs could do the pretty work.”
A biting cross-field wind turned the kicking game into an adventure at Lynn Davies Rugby Park.
“There was a lot of forward ball because of the wind, which is good for us. We have a fit pack and our young guys are full of piss and vinegar. They’ve got energy to keep going forward,” Lucas said.
A long zig-zag run by Matt Jarvis set up Angus MacDonald’s try in the 10th minute. MacDonald, a prop who was out of position on the wing during a ruck outside the Druids’ five-metre line, trotted into the try area when presented with the ball and no defender marking him.
In the 20th minute, a high tackle by Matt Herod led to a Druids’ penalty kick from outside the 22-metre line.
Before the first half ended, the seconds fumbled away two potential tries. They coughed up the ball in a ruck while in scoring position, then a few minutes later Cole Corcoran was whistled for a knock on in the try area after Herod busted loose for a big gain before dishing the ball off to the young winger.
Early in the second half the seconds came up empty at close range of the try line because of sloppy passing.
Spirited runs by Jarvis and Herod sent a galloping Sean LeLacheur busting through the defensive line for a try under the posts in the 52nd minute. The second try in two games was a career high for LeLacheur, a dominating jumper on lineout balls.
Luke Richardson, a standoff import from Australia, kicked the conversion.
After the Druids scored a try to cap off a prolonged stint in St. Albert’s end, Richardson replied six minutes later by sprinting through the posts to make it 17-8.
The seconds buckled down defensively to end the game after a converted try by the Druids with seven minutes remaining.
“It was a tough battle as usual with the Druids so it was a good effort by everybody on the team to beat them,” Lucas said.
The seconds were coming off a 29-12 loss to the Nor’Westers, last year’s provincial finalists, to kick off the season.
“They’ve had the same core guys playing in that division for the last four, five years. They’re just a tough team,” Lucas said.
Last year’s ERU semifinalists at 8-5 overall are going through a rebuilding phase with several new faces in the starting 15.
“We’ve lost a lot of our veteran players on the seconds and premier teams compared to last year, so we’re in a bit of a developing stage right now. We’ve got a lot of young talent stepping up into the seconds so we rely on people to be leaders like Goon [Graham Noren], LeLacheur, Aaron Millard and myself. We’re pretty much the old boys now,” said Lucas, 27, the team’s scrum-half. “We’ll just keep chipping away at the season and see what happens.”
The seconds are in action May 26 against the rival Clansmen at Airways Park.
SCRUM BALLS: St. Albert’s third division team kicked off its fixtures in Friday’s 41-21 victory over the Pirates at the Pirates Rugby Club. The man of the match was forward Patrick Whitehead.
The thirds scrum down this Friday against the Sharks at 7 p.m. at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
