Too many players at school or working in the oilfield, too many injuries and too beat up.
The undermanned Banff Bears limped noticeably into and out of the Calgary Rugby Union Division 2 playoff picture with a 71-14 loss to the Calgary Irish on Saturday, (Sept. 14) in Calgary.
With only 13 healthy bodies ready to dress for the Bears (rugby generally calls for 15 on the field at a time), they knew a yeoman’s effort was required against arch rivals the Calgary Irish. They kept the game close through the first half, but when an injury to John Vanderlee knocked them down to 12 players, they knew they were in big trouble.
“It was an epic effort from the boys. Right to the end, we made them work for their win. Despite the shortfall, you could see our systems working well, defense was solid, our rucking was great and if we were a little more clinical in our finishing, there would have been more points on the board,” said Iain Ramsay. “There are plenty of positives to take forward to next year. I have never been more proud to wear a Banff jersey.”
Floods washed out much of Banff’s first half of the schedule, so they had to play three hard-fought games to close out their season. The fatigue was evident by the time they reached the Irish in the first playoff round.
The last time the two teams played, the Irish squeaked out a 20-17 win, and Ramsay told the team things would be different when they met in the playoffs. He didn’t foresee losing half of the team to injuries and other commitments, though.
The first half was played tight, as even though the Irish had a two-man advantage, they kept pushing through the forward line. Ross Gundry scored a try for Banff, with Malcolm Wilson kicking the conversion. By the end of the half, the Irish had a 19-7 lead.
“Wilson’s solid kicking kept the Irish back in their territory. The whole team tackled like their lives depended on it and some big running from Mark Hooper and Josh Macleod kept the Irish on their toes,” said Ramsay.
The Irish re-adjusted their game plan and sent fresh legs onto the field to start the second half. Using their numbers advantage, they discovered they could beat Banff wide. The score quickly ballooned to 71-14. Banff was awarded a penalty try when Wilson followed his own chip-kick, but was taken out on the try-line.
Playing shorthanded earned the Bears the utmost respect from their opponents. Irish captain Mike Stante said the Banff side showed true grit on the pitch.
“Credit to the men from Banff. You boys came and played hard, held your heads high and played full-out for 80 minutes. There’s a lot of sides in the league that would have bailed being short. Good on you Banff Bears,” Stante said.
