Blustery, cold winds and a bit of snow didn’t stop the Banff Bears rugby side from coming out ahead against the Calgary Rams, 40-19, at Millennium Park, Saturday (April 26).
The two teams faced off in an exhibition friendly match to get ready and prepared for the upcoming Calgary Rugby Union season that officially starts the first week of May.
“We did four 20 minute periods just because of the weather and we only have 16 guys,” said Banff player Cody Skrine. “We don’t have a very deep bench, so it gives us a bit of a break whereas they (Calgary) brought 32 players. But they were gracious enough to not go too hard on us.”
Skrine says the team has a decent returning core and some new additions have been made to the roster. Among the new players is a trio of brothers hailing from England. The brothers – Aaron, Aidan and Callum Evison – honed their skills back in Cornwall and showed it with younger brother Aaron scoring 12 points and big brother Callum scoring 14 during the exhibition. The Evison brothers said Rockies weather is a change for rugby playing, but they are happy to be on the team. “It’s a bit cold, it’s probably about the worst we ever played in,” Callum said.
Players agreed it was a good start to the opening of a new CRU third division season so players can gauge what needs to be accomplished down the road.
“It was a good one, nice to dust off the boots and blow out the cobwebs,” said Banff Bear vice-president and returning player Darrell Cranny. “It’s the first game of the season and we’ve only had four outdoor sessions. As always, it’s a little bit difficult for us at the start of the season.”
The Banff Bears draw much of their lineup from among the service industry, so players’ arrival in town is often tied to their employment opportunities.
Cranny agreed playing four quarters was a good decision based on the fact the Bears are part of the third division this year and the team hopes to offer a more social aspect to the game. In the past, the Bears competed in the CRU’s more competitive second division and were most recently Southern Alberta champions in 2009 and 2010 and provincial champs in 2009.
“We played their (Calgary’s) first division team in the first quarter, their second division team in the second quarter and then they kind of mixed it up so it was nice for the guys here to get the experience as well,” Cranny said.
“It was nice for Canmore to allow us down here as well, obviously we normally play in Banff, but it’s nice to bring rugby down here ... we’re so close and we don’t get enough people from Canmore and it was nice to get a nice little crowd here.”
Skrine says the Bears are still recruiting, and anyone who is interested can visit the Banff Bears Rugby Club Facebook page forinformation.
