Spirits were high and things were looking up.
That’s when it all came crashing down.
After mauling the Banff Bears 41-5 on April 20, the Cochrane Bears boys rugby team came tumbling back to Earth with a 33-12 loss to Foothills Composite Falcons on April 27.
It was evident right from the first tackle that the game – which was played at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field – was going to be one where no quarter was given by either side, both of whom were eager to bring their season record to 2-0 (Falcons beat Strathcona 31-26 in their league opener).
“We were expecting a tough game,” said Bears head coach Anthony Battistone. “We knew (Foothills) was a good team, we saw them on the weekend at the Icebreaker, and they looked good.
“It was always going to be a difficult game.”
The Bears looked shell-shocked as the visitors took a 14-0 lead early on, continuing their Icebreaker tournament championship form.
Being forced back by a strong Falcons defence and not getting the ball out wide to their flankers fast enough played parts in the visitors being able to stifle the home side’s game plan.
Despite Craig de la Mare and Brennan Bourchier bagging a couple excellent tries, the Bears never looked like they would stage a comeback.
“To be honest, we were expecting a little more out of our guys,” Battistone said. “They got a little rattled by some stiff competition.
“Foothills was the first real challenge for us. They had some great players, but so do we. Unfortunately their players were able to execute and it wasn’t our day.”
The Bears now have a couple practices before their away game against Springbank on May 3, and Battistone feels the mistakes made in the Falcons game will be something the team will remedy in those sessions.
“(This game) was a great learning experience, especially for myself,” he said. “We have some good areas to improve on which will allow us to adjust our practice plan.”
The game against Springbank is to be quickly followed by a crucial outing against one of the Bears’ main rivals, Holy Trinity, on May 5.
“We had some experience with Springbank in our sevens tournament,” Battistone said. “So we’re going to make sure our guys get a lot of game time. We’re going to rotate players because we want to maintain our drive and keep players fresh.
“Having two games in one week is hard on the guys.”
