The Banff Rugby Football Club men’s team reached the midway point of its season on a high note, defeating the Calgary Irish at the Rec Grounds on Saturday (Aug. 6) by a margin of 38-6.
Initially it looked like it might be a interesting match, with Calgary dominating the ball and scoring first, with two field goals early in the game.
But then Banff answered with two tries, first from Mario Dominguez and then Simon MacDonald, and with two successful conversions, Banff led the game 14-6 at the half.
The second half was all Banff, with four more unanswered tries, scored by Tom Bremner, Ian Snowsell, Dominguez and MacDonald.
MacDonald stressed it was a team effort.
“It was a great game, it was the first time all year that we’ve really come together,” he said after the game. “We played well and moved the ball really well. I think we did it as a team, not as an individual effort.
“It’s always good scoring, but I think winning is better than scoring tries.”
Dominguez had similar thoughts.
“It went well, everyone came together as a team, which is good,” he said. “It’s good support, good players, good team, you can’t do it all by yourself, it’s a team game.”
Their opponents were a good team, he added.
“They were tough, they were big and mean, but it’s Banff rugby – that’s about it,” said Dominguez.
Banff coach Mark Hooper acknowledged the Irish effort.
“The Irish are good guys,” he said. “They’re hard on the pitch, they’re physical and they’re the kind of team we always enjoy playing.
“The thing about rugby is for 80 minutes you’re worst enemies, and afterwards you’re best friends and you drink and socialize,” explained Hooper. “The Irish are good at both.”
Starting slow and finishing strong is a common formula for their games, he said.
“We always start slow; for the last three years we started slow, but it’s how you finish rather than how you start,” said Hooper. “I was pretty proud of the boys, I was happy, the good thing about today is that it wasn’t a lot of individual tries, it was a lot of teamwork and offloading.”
Hooper praised the effort made by the team.
“Mario Dominguez played really good on the flank, Simon MacDonald, our scrum half, always kept us going forward,” he said. “This was our turning point, our halfway point of the season, and they sure are a good team, so to keep them off the scoreboard with no tries, just two penalties and win 38-6 was a great result for us.”
