If anyone thought the Banff Bears rugby team would dominate Division III of the Calgary Rugby Union, think again.
The Bears were shut out on their home field for the second time this month after an 18-0 loss to the Calgary Irish on Saturday (June 14) at the Banff Rec Grounds.
Home field was once a fortress for the Bears, and one of the most intimidating road dates for opposing teams, however Banff has had trouble scoring this season at the rec grounds.
Sitting one game over .500 five games into the season, player coach Mark Hooper said there’s no reason to panic just yet, but the losses are a kick in the butt.
“We train the same plays, we know the right moves. It comes down to doing the right thing at the right time and unfortunately we’re not doing that right now,” said Hooper. “We’re a good team. I can give as many excuses for that loss as I want, but at the end of the day, that’s a loss for Banff. That’s two losses at home this year and that stings.”
The Irish defence was extremely stingy, and they ruled the rucks for much of the match. Armed with several extra players including some very Div. 1-looking forwards, the Irish wore down the Bears.
“They’ve got a good team. They came with 32 players and their Div. 1 and 2 teams weren’t playing this weekend. I’m pretty sure they weren’t Div. 3 players, but that’s what you’ve got to deal with when you play third division rugby. But we didn’t play well. We didn’t play to our strengths,” Hooper said.
The Bears’ next three games are at home, and they’ll try and return to their winning ways on Saturday (June 21) against the winless Hornets. Hooper said they know what they have to do to chalk up a win.
“Whenever we play the field properly, whenever we put teams on the back foot and make them attack us, that’s when they turn balls over, that’s when they knock balls on. When we try to do too much on our back half, that’s when it becomes a bit of a pissing match. It just doesn’t work for us,” said Hooper.
Banff’s young players are still learning how to score in the league and Hooper said they’ll have to turn the losses into learning opportunities.
“These losses will do us better than wins. They’ll stick in the boys’ memory a bit more. The boys will start listening and try and play the game plan we laid out for them,” Hooper said.
He also hopes some of the veterans who thought this season would be a cakewalk will wake up.
“It’s easy to say we’ll walk this league, but at the end of the day … we’ll be playing the same standard and maybe a little better (than Div. 2). You’re playing against classy players. They’re very good,” Hooper said.
“Now, we’ll go out, regroup and start over. You can’t teach experience and these losses will give the boys a little kick in the ass.”
