St. Albert’s first 15 got a helping hand from some home-grown talent Saturday in their match against the Druids when national rugby team member Andy Tiedemann took the field.
In St. Albert from the West Coast for the week to visit family, Tiedemann decided to call up coach Gareth Scott and ask if he needed an extra player on the bench for Saturday’s match.
For Scott, it was perfect timing, with prop Chris Butland serving a suspension for receiving a red card in the July 5 match against the Clan.
“When [Tiedemann] called at the beginning of the week, he couldn’t have called at a better time,” Scott said. “He wanted to know if I had a spot on the bench for him and I said, ‘Bench? You’re playing!’ It was an unbelievable turn of events.”
The Paul Kane alumnus thought nothing of spending a Saturday evening during a rare visit home rucking and mauling with the first 15.
“It was fun to play for your home club and help the guys get a win,” Tiedemann said.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old prop now has 14 caps to his name in international play with the national team. His West Coast team, the Castaway Wanderers, made it to the national semifinals this year. He also played in three games for Canada in the Summer Series.
“He’s a world-class player and I’m glad to see he’s getting the recognition with the national team right now,” Scott said. “I think when he steps on the field with our boys, I think they wanted to play up to his level. I think they wanted to show him what St. Albert rugby is all about and they did that, so it was great.”
The rest of St. Albert’s Alberta Cup squad also felt the impact of having Tiedemann on the field.
“We noticed the difference in our scrums,” said Matt Jarvis, left-wing. “Our scrums were pretty dominant today and he does a good job of communicating with all the guys, too. Like even myself on the wing, he was communicating with me. It makes a difference having a player of that calibre come out.”
For Tiedemann, playing in the game boiled down to having fun.
“That’s what I like doing for fun, so why not, right?” he said. “My season’s over, so why not get in another couple of games, right?
Up next for Tiedemann will be trying to land a spot on the Prairie Wolf Pack regional team. He’s also gunning for a spot on the Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) Selects for the Americas Rugby Championship in Argentina in October.
