BANFF – Rugby season returned in Banff, with the local high school looking get its spark back in the sport.
The Banff Bears girls team picked up their first victory of the season last Thursday (April 27) in Calgary, defeating the Rundle College Cobras 35-17.
Scoring three tries was Maggie O’Connor, and with one try each were Alicia Smith, Darby Simms, Louise Gosse, and Lily Fochuk.
Coach Maya Russow said defence and coming into rucks was solid, but the girls need to work on some fundamentals moving forward.
On the same pitch, the boys lost 47-38 against their Cobras adversaries.
“Rundle’s game was one of the best rugby games I’ve watched in a long time,” said Coach Ian Higginbottom.
“It was just a total offensive shootout; both teams were just fired on and ruthless offensively.”
The boys are in the hunt for their first victory this season.
Rugby has a storied history in the Bow Valley, and in recent years, Banff Bears alum Holly Phillips and Krissy Scurfield each made women’s senior national team rosters in 15s and sevens.
As sports teams emerge from the pandemic, the little Banff school looking to rebuild its culture.
“We’re still in the recovery phase,” said Higginbottom. “I’m hopeful we can rebuild rugby culture. It definitely got hit pretty hard by COVID because being a small school we relied on that culture of this is what we do here.”
On May 16, both Bears teams have their home openers against the Strathmore Spartans at Banff Recreation Grounds.
The girls play at 5 p.m. and the boys take to the pitch at 6:30 p.m.
