BANFF – It was the first time this season the Banff Bears lost a rugby game when both teams took the field.
The Edmonton Clansmen defeated the Bears 20-12 in Division 3 rugby to win the provincial title, Saturday (Sept. 29) at the Calgary Rugby Union.
The Bears, which played the entire game a man short of a full 15, put up a good fight against their provincial opponents, which fielded a team 24 strong. However, eventually the numbers the Clansmen were able to bring to the field won out.
According to Banff Bears player-coach Mark Hooper, the Bears were granted special dispensation to field an extra import player by both the Calgary and Edmonton Rugby Unions, on the condition their opponent agreed.
When Hooper reached out to the Clansmen team, though, he was told through email that they would not be allowed to add an extra import player, and so the Banff squad was forced to play a man down.
“I’m not taking anything away from anyone, because we’re Southern Alberta Champions and undefeated in our league, that’s a big thing,” said Hooper.
“I’m very proud of that, and I’m very proud of the boys, but this one stings. We didn’t lose to a better team, we lost because we just ran dry after playing all year with 14-15 guys, and the one time when the rules said we could play (with an extra import), the Clan said ‘no.’ It’s just classless.”
Through the first half of the game, the Bears and Clansmen would fight a tight defensive battle. Each team would gain possession of the ball and bring it close to the goal line, only to see the other team recover just in time and kick it downfield. The opposing factions would keep up a back and forth battle for the first half, with neither conceding a point through 40 minutes of play.
Early in the second half, Jahvon Laing of the Clansmen found a gap in Banff’s coverage close to the goal line and ran in the first try of the game at 3:33 on the clock. He would prove to be a player fatal to Banff throughout the afternoon.
The Clansmen missed the extra conversion kick, leaving the score at 5-0. Banff would hustle hard, recover the ball close to midfield, and start a drive toward the Clansmen end. After a series of plays, Donnie Hall of Banff would score the Bears’ first try of the game at 9:25 gone in the second half to answer the Clansmen. A missed kick left the score tied at 5-5.
With 50 minutes of rugby played, fatigue began to set in for the Banff team and their ability to cover the field started to break down. Colbey Franko of the Clansmen would put their team up by five only a few minutes later at 12:50.
Just after that, Laing found a huge gap in Banff’s coverage and sprinted downfield for 50 yards before scoring again for the Clan.
With the score 15-5, the Bears drove downfield to within 20 yards of the endzone and opted to kick the ball, which went wide.
Banff gained possession of the ball after the missed kick, and brought it close to the goal line, when Josh Elliott of the Clansmen picked off a pass and ran downfield for 60 yards before a Bear brought him down. Laing of the Clansmen would again score after scooping up a loose ball.
Down 20-5 with just 11 minutes left in their season, the Bears played with tenacity, driving downfield and refusing to roll over. Bear Dominic Amon eventually scored another try for the team underneath the Clansmen post, and Eliot Smith of Banff converted, but it was too late. The final buzzer rang, and the Clansmen were crowned provincial champions.
“It’s a tough one. I can’t help but feel it would have been different if they would have let us have 15 players,” said Hooper after the game. “What sucks is that’s a game we could have won. Like we could have gotten back in with 14 guys, with 15 we would have won that game.”
