Knees were dropped on chests, punches were thrown into faces and blood was spilled on the fabled home turf.
In their most physical game of the year, it came down to the last play of the game as the Banff Bears rugby team dropped a 20-17 decision to the Calgary Irish Saturday (Aug. 24) at the Banff Rec Grounds, snapping a four-game winning streak.
On the bright side, the Bears appear ready to clinch a playoff spot. If all goes according to plan, they’ll likely face the Irish in the first round of the playoffs.
“It was probably the toughest game we’ve had in terms of tackling and hitting. The Irish are a well-drilled side. They played the same lines the whole game long, so it was hit after hit after hit,” said Bear Ian Ramsay.
The Bears jumped out to an early lead when Matthew Cole took advantage of a hole in the Irish defence, which was quickly closed up for the rest of the game.
The Irish then responded physically, using their size advantage with a lot of unruly behaviour. The Bears fought right back, to the point where the referee threatened to end the match should it continue. They scored a drop goal to get close.
“We were up, so of course tempers are going to flare. They started throwing some punches. We shouldn’t really react to it, but we did and let them back into the game. Our discipline has to build for the finals,” Ramsay said.
Jonah Hann restored Banff’s lead in the second half, but the Irish were unrelenting in their physical game, which challenged the Bears’ forward group.
“We’re missing some key people in the scrum in terms of the front row. A lot of our top guys are working in the oil field and we’re switching it up every time. We were competing with them, just not driving them off,” Ramsay said.
Tyler MacLeod added a late try for Banff, but it wasn’t enough, as the Irish pushed through in the dying minutes of the match, scoring right before the final whistle.
Ramsay said the bad blood subsided as soon as the whistle blew – after a night out on the town together – and he was proud of how the Bears played, knowing the teams will likely face off again.
“I hate, hate, hate losing, but it’s the best-feeling loss. They won that game fairly, the referee called it properly and we didn’t throw it away,” Ramsay said.
Facing the Irish does give the Banff squad a good chance at moving on, he said.
“To be fair, if you look at the last four years, the Irish have beaten us here, and we’ve beaten them there. We’ll take them out tonight on the town and then see them in the playoffs.”
On the field, in order to beat them, Ramsay knows Banff will need to improve.
“We’ll need a little more fitness, more hits and to keep our heads on our shoulders. If we can keep the rucks down and give the ball cleanly to (Michael) Fernie, we’ll be alright.”
Several Banff players are now leaving for school, and won’t be able to play in the playoffs. Matthew Soukas, Hann and Simon MacDonald will all be unable to play out the rest of the season.
The Bears have two more regular season games to finish the year. On Aug. 31, they face off against the Saracens at 2 p.m. at the Banff Rec Grounds, then draw Lethbridge the following week for a 3 p.m. matchup.
