Hear us roar! The Cochrane Bears Rugby Club opened their Big Sky Rugby Union high school season with a thunderous 41-5 victory over Banff Bears on April 20 at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field.
Hear us roar!
The Cochrane Bears Rugby Club opened their Big Sky Rugby Union high school season with a thunderous 41-5 victory over Banff Bears on April 20 at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field.
It was a one-sided affair as the hosts showed they were clearly ahead of their opponents in terms of determination, grit, play execution, size, and skill.
Rylen Waugh (two), David Hoang, Brennan Bourchier, Austin Dixon, Marcus Hitbert, and Craig de la Mare all scored tries, as the Bears asserted their dominance and sent a message to the rest of the league, that they're a team with firepower.
“We expect to go to provincials this year, ” said Bears coach Anthony Battistone. “We did well last year and got to zones. Holy Trinity High School Knights, who were our main rivals last season, moved up a tier, so we believe there's no reason we can't get to the next level. ”
This year's team is an eclectic group of veterans and first-year players who previously played football and decided to try something different.
“Our starters have been here now for three and four years, ” Battistone said. “We have seven seniors this season which provides us with a lot of experience. ”
Some of these veterans like Waugh - who is a Team Canada player - are going to be expected to step up this campaign as the team is not going to have to battle just their opponents, but themselves.
“We expect a lot from Rylen, and we're getting it, ” Battistone said. “We also have guys like Brennan Bourchier and David Hoang who are our two flankers. They're big motivators and lead by example.
“We expect Holy Trinity to be tough again this year. Last year we had some struggles with Strathmore and Strathcona. Springbank is always a nice rivalry as well but our biggest opponent, is ourselves to be honest. Sometimes the guys' heads aren't in it, and that's when we make games tougher than they should be. ”
The Bears are now getting preparing to play Holy Trinity on April 26 at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field.
It's a game Battistone knows his team will have to be at the top of their game if they expect to get anything out of it.
“The expectation is we're in the game, ” Battistone said. “We expect when our starters are on the field we'll be putting points up and playing good defence.
“We expect our players to do their job and do it to the best of their ability. ”
