What did Springbank Community High School Phoenix girl’s rugby players do after their team upset Strathmore Spartans in the Big Sky rugby Tier 2 gold-medal final?
They sat down.
“It was the lamest celebration I’ve ever seen from a team because half of them just sat down right where they were,” Phoenix head coach Kennet Moore cracked. “The ref blew the whistle, game over. They were exhausted.
“Usually it’s just total mirth and exuberance underneath the posts. This year they were just exhausted.”
They earned that lame celebration the honest way, bending but not breaking in a colossal 15-12 Big Sky Zone Tier 2 girl’s high-school rugby championship win May 31 at Calgary Rugby Union (CRU) ground against a superior Spartans side. It was exhausting watching the furious pace of play. One can only imagine the toll it took on the Grades 10-12 players on both teams.
“It’s probably one of the best high school games I’ve seen,” Moore related. “Both teams were having a go. There was some nastiness. But it was all rugby-level. It went back and forth.”
The Phoenix opened the scoring in the first half on a run from Janine Jomaa. Strathmore tied it 5-5 by half time. Phoenix Chanelle Edwards-Challenger scored off the kickoff with a run to open the second half. Strathmore replied, scoring under the posts to go up 12-10. But Springbank replied, all girls shoving the pile into the goal area after a prolonged possession in Strathmore territory for the definitive try. The Phoenix slammed the door on a final-minute, goal-line push from Strathmore to finish the deal.
Now it’s off to Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association provincials, June 6-7 at CRU ground.
“It is another level. There are a lot of teams coming out of the south that most likely will be untouchable,” Moore cautioned. “Teams like F.P. Walshe out of Fort McLeod and LCI out of Lethbridge that normally go Tier 1 and they’ve decided to go Tier 2. We’ll be in really tough. We’re lucky because we get the high seed.
“Both us and Strathmore will be in tough at provincials.”
Springbank advanced to the Zone final with a 27-0 semifinal win May 30 over High River.
