Notes
For much of the season, the Banff Bears men’s rugby squad tried to play a brash, smashmouth style of rugby, generously seasoned with its fair share of trash talk and chirping. This resulted in a .500 record, and some grumblings throughout the team.
For the past three weeks leading up to the end of the season, the Bears have employed a new mantra: know your role and shut your mouth.
Against Airdrie it worked exceedingly well, as the Bears defeated the Highlanders 46-14 in their last regular season home game of the year. Mark ‘Hoops’ Hooper scored three tries for Banff, while the team’s youth movement were physically dominant throughout the entire match.
“We played perfect today. We shut our mouths and just played rugby. It’s a great way to finish at home,” said Michael ‘Toba’ McKay, who captained his first win.
The performance is just what the team needed following a tough loss to the undefeated Cochrane squad last week, as Banff now finds itself in a four-way tie for third in the Calgary Rugby Union’s Tier III division. They need to win their final game of the season against Red Deer on Sept. 6 to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, and clinch home field advantage in the first round.
“You always want to come back hard after a loss. If we meet Cochrane again, we’ll win,” McKay said.
He singled out Connor Sorensen, Thomas Liddy, Caden Choi and Koji Seki for their strong play against Airdrie, crediting them for big runs and tough play. The young players didn’t look out of place against the Airdrie men and if they play like that again, McKay said the team won’t return from Red Deer empty-handed.
“When we go to Red Deer, they always bring a good game and we’re not looking to lose. If we win there, we can easily steamroll in the playoffs,” McKay said. “As long as we keep up with Hooper, we’ll be fine. There are 14 other players, then there’s Mark Hooper.”
Tongue in cheek, McKay went on to say Hooper’s three tries were by no means a result of ‘selfish rugby,’ but came from the fact Hooper began listening to him.
“I’m his hero, basically … those three tries were because of me,” McKay said.
Joking aside, Banff has one week to recover in preparation for the Red Deer Game.
“We want to build momentum before the playoffs. That’s all we’re looking for. Today we were getting tired at the end of the game. We need to give it that extra in practice,” McKay said.
