The Calgary Rugby Union (CRU) has asked the Banff men’s rugby club to recuse itself from league playoffs, citing the club’s overabundance of international players as an abuse of league rules.
The league informed the Banff club Wednesday (July 26) of its decision, stating Banff used more than six international players on field in league play.
The Banff club has 11 international players on its roster, and members said they had to field fewer Canadians due to injuries this year. CRU rules state no more than three foreign players may appear on a game sheet, however, Banff has asked for six.
“We’ve had so many injuries to our Canadian players this year. We were footing the bill as we saw fit. We used a rule we’ve used for years, and we asked for more. I’ve got eight (international players) sitting,” said Banff coach Lee Garrett. “They looked at our game sheets and took us out of the playoffs.”
The team received a leaked email chain about the decision, in which many teams in the league opposed Banff’s inclusion in the playoffs. Other teams didn’t see what the fuss was about, and simply wanted everyone to play rugby.
The CRU code of conduct also indicates players must not be discriminated against based on nationality.
The Banff squad is obviously up in arms over the decision. Since its inception, the Banff squad has attracted numerous Australian and British players, who work service industry jobs throughout the week, and play rugby on Saturday afternoons.
CRU has said it will help Banff promote the sport and attract more Canadians to the team, but Garrett is skeptical. The team dropped down to Tier 3 play to allow more local Banff players to suit up, and doesn’t believe they can pick up a half dozen Canadian rugby players over summer.
“I don’t think they understand the town dynamic,” Garrett said.
Banff is the smallest community in the CRU men’s Tier 3 division, and the only one that relies heavily on tourism for its players. Garrett said the rugby team is one of the reasons many Australians choose to work in Banff, as they have the option of skiing all winter, and playing rugby all summer.
“It was the reason I came here,” Garrett said.
The dispute has yet to be fully resolved, as the CRU has not disqualified Banff from the playoffs.
“They said we have to bow out. (Previous team captain) Mark Hooper wrote them an email and said we are not bowing out. You can kick us out, but we are not adding quitting to our resume, Mark wrote,” Garrett said.
The team has said it wants to play out the season, and proved its resolve Saturday with an astonishing 59-14 beat down of the league leading Calgary Knights. Garrett said the game was a message to the league, proving they want to play.
“We will still play, and play hard. We sent the CRU a message. The CRU said if this is how it is for Banff right now, you can play with your internationals, six on the field at any time. That’s what we’re doing,” Garrett said.
The game was extremely physical, as the Knights came out literally swinging.
“We stayed away from the grubby stuff as much as possible. I said to the boys we can send a message, but we have to do it in the right way,” Garrett said.
The Banff club does have a lot of Canadian talent. Many of its scoring plays Saturday came from their Canadian players. Garrett said.
The team is also exploring other options, such as hosting its own playoff game against out of province teams. Garrett said they will also need a solution with the CRU heading into next year.
“With the headaches it’s caused, we’ve got to go and have a meeting and see what we get out of this. It’s not fair to have guys pay full registration and get half a season of rugby,” Garrett said. “When I came here, it was the same thing. All I wanted to do is play rugby.”
Banff will play its next home game against the Calgary Hornets in three weeks time. By then, the team hopes its future will be much more clear.
The CRU did not respond to the Outlook’s interview request before deadline.
