COCHRANE – The Bow Valley Grizzlies snatched the Bears Cup away from the Banff rugby men this season, but that’s the least of the local club’s problems right now.
The Cochrane-based rugby club won the second annual bragging-rights trophy while staying undefeated following a 33-5 home victory against their rivals, the Banff Bears, on Saturday (July 22).
Bears coach Mark Hooper said the team is frustrated about losing the trophy, which they won last year, but the score sheet didn’t reflect the intensity of the match. A slow start plagued the sleepy Bears, which went down 21-0 in the first 20 minutes before the majority of the team woke up.
“It’s like a boxer getting hit a couple of times before they kind of snap into action,” said Hooper.
“You know, we’re not happy about that [losing the Bears Cup], but it wasn’t the focus. The focus was going down there and doing a job and getting a win. Unfortunately, it looks like the league is a little out of our hands now on making the playoffs.”
On top of losing the best-of-three in-season series for the Bears Cup, it also means that for Banff’s rugby men, last year’s Calgary Rugby Union (CRU) champions, the playoffs are an uphill battle.
The loss drops Banff (4-3) to fourth place in the standings, behind the undefeated Grizzlies (7-0) and Red Deer Titans (6-1). The top two teams advance to the playoffs and play for the CRU crown.
With five matches remaining in the season, the Bears are in desperation mode to keep their playoff hopes alive, especially with two matches remaining against the Grizzlies and Titans.
“There’s a good chance we’re not making the playoffs and it’s because of our schedule,” said Hooper. “We had to play Cochrane three times and all the Calgary teams played them once, so the fact we’ve already lost three games now, with two to them, really puts us in a real tough position to make playoffs.”
Hooper added during Saturday’s match, the Bears were trying to force too many plays, causing errors that the Grizzlies capitalized on. It was a similar story in the two teams’ heavyweight match-up a week prior at Banff Recreation Grounds.
“I’m not taking anything away from them because they are a very good team. There’s a reason they’re undefeated, but we didn’t do ourselves any favours by trying to push and chase the game,” said Hooper.
The coach praised the play of Matt Lavigne, Nathan Wilson, Kyle Mills and team captain Frank Dwyer.
Matt Soukas scored the lone try for Banff.
In a must-win situation, the Bears face off against Foothills Lions, Saturday (July 29) at Banff Recreation Grounds. Kick-off is 1 p.m.
“We’ve gotta win now. There’s no more losses to be had,” said Hooper.
