Duncan Maguire of the St. Albert Rugby Football Club was added to Team Canada 7’s line-up for the Port Elizabeth tournament this weekend at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The lightning-quick Maguire was recruited by Canada after leading the Lionheart 7s to plate honours in the international invitational division at the recent Emirates Dubai tournament.
Canada will play South Africa, Kenya and Spain in South Africa.
It’s been a year to remember for Maguire, a high school rugby product of the St. Albert Skyhawks. The game-breaker in the backs for SARFC’s premier team and the Calgary-based Prairie Wolfpack in the Canadian Rugby Championship league competed for Canada’s 15 squad at the Americas Rugby Championship in Langford, B.C.
Maguire was joined by SARFC first 15 team players Kyle Baillie, Adam Bontus and Jake Robinson at the three-day tournament in Dubai. The Lionheart’s roster included five Calgary Hornets, one Calgary Canuck and one Strathcona Druid.
In pool E the Lionhearts lost 22-19 to Belgium Rugby 7s and 24-15 to Georgia and defeated Moscow Region 29-7.
In the first match in the plate round the Lionhearts downed Aquadive Apache of England 17-12 with a try in the dying seconds
Karim Lynch, SARFC’s most valuable player on the first Labatt’s Cup provincial championship in club history in 2010, played for the Apache.
The Lionhearts also turfed Georgia 34-7 and in the plate final knocked off The Royals, a team of England 7s national team fringe players, 21-17.
The Lorne Akins Crush wrestling team will be represented by five grapplers at the 2014 Alberta Winter Games after finishing first in their respective weight categories at the Zone 5 (Black Gold/Yellowhead) trials Thursday in Edson.
Jennessa Carter, Madeleine Lovsin, Ben Manchester, Mckenna Marthiensen and Parker Seymour pinned down spots at the Feb. 6 to 9 provincial multi-sport competition in Banff and Canmore.
Finishing second at the trials were Alexa Bereziuk, Kyle Lawrence, Aulden Maj-Pfelger, Lindsay Meek-White, Bryana Perlette and Michael Serra.
Placing third were William Diederichs and Gracie Reschke.
The Crush sent 35 wrestlers to the trials.
St. Albert Fury head coach Tim Enger and the atom Buccaneers were honoured by the Capital District Minor Football Association for their 2013 accomplishments.
Enger was selected by CDMFA coaches as the Johnny Bright bantam division coach of the year. The Fury were the first St. Albert bantam team to reach the Tier 1 final since the formation of the CDMFA in 1992. The Fury (6-3-1) also made their Tier 1 provincial debut as semifinalists.
The Buccaneers were recognized as the Jackie Parker division’s top offensive and defensive atom team of the year.
The Bucs finished 8-1 overall as the CDMFA’s Tier 3 champions.
