BANFF – The Banff Bears loss to the Calgary Rams on Saturday (July 27) was “a good gut check” for the team, said Oliver McKay, president for the Bears.
With the match ending, 46-26, the loss was a hit to the team's playoff pursuit, but McKay said this will give the Bears a chance to re-evaluate and be self-critical.
“Obviously, having won our last games 64-0 and 82-7, it was good to get a strong opponent before we start playing sudden death games,” he said.
A windy rainstorm kicked off the Calgary Rugby Union match, unfortunately knocking down a tree onto the opposing team's tent. Despite the weather, both rugby teams toughed out the cold throughout half of the first period.
“The first half, there was some pretty strong weather so that certainly influenced the style of game we played. It was a little bit more conservative, it was a little bit more sloppy on both sides, but I thought that we progressed as the game went along after coming out fairly flat in the first 25, 30 minutes,” McKay said.
By the end of the first half, the rainstorm cleared up, though the outlook was not looking any brighter for the team and by half-time, the Calgary Rams led 29-12.
Within the last 15 minutes of the game, Bears player Duncan Thorburn, suffered a high ankle sprain that will leave him absent from upcoming matches.
“It’s one where we wish Duncan well," McKay said. "We’re working to support him as he supports the club in his recovery and hopefully he’ll be able to come back at some point during playoffs."
Although Saturday’s match was a tough one for the Bears, McKay is confident in the team’s abilities including some of the rookies who have been trained through the Banff Rugby Club’s high school development program.
“Scotty Chisholm, who has played scrum-half for us this year, has been exceptionally strong. Losing Duncan Thorburn, obviously with an ankle sprain, it’s tough – but hopefully in a couple weeks he’ll be able to come back,” McKay said.
Daniel Dixon, who plays outside centre and wing, is another exceptional rookie named by McKay as he his quick, demonstrating a lot of speed with the ball. Flanker Jarek Rathwell, who joined the team only a couple games ago, has shown strong potential as well.
In preparation for the next game, the team will be returning to the basics and working on sticking to game plans.
“What’s worked for us well is we play controlled all retensive rugby," McKay said. "We stick to our game plan. We have the ability to force our opponents into mistakes and if we play loose off-the-truck rugby, it doesn’t always work out for us. So as long as we stick to our game plan. That should be enough for us to have success."
