The Bow Valley Grizzlies rugby club charged into their new season Saturday afternoon with a dominating win against the Calgary Saints.
The scenic mountain backdrop at Calgary Rugby Union gave way to an aggressive afternoon of rugby, with familiar Grizz faces like Anthony Battistone and Connor Gilbert grinding it out alongside rookies like Austin Dixon and Dave Hoang.
The game itself was as lopsided as a half-done cake, as the current southern Alberta division 2 city champions commanded the pitch for most of the 80-minute match-up and finished with a final score of 70-10.
“It was a good game,” said player Anthony Battistone after the match. “Everybody’s raring to go here … it sets the tone for the season.”
Among a handful of other players, newly-minted winger Dixon ran in two tries, while new grizz on the block Hoang tallied up a hat trick to put three more on the board.
Dixon – who has been a fixture in Cochrane rugby with the blended Bow Valley-Cochrane high school team as well as with the U18 Prairie Wolf Pack – said it’s been an honour to move from being coached by seasoned players like Battistone and Karl Bauer to now playing beside them on the pitch.
“It’s like a big family – you want to be like your big brother. You want to make them proud,” said Dixon of the more sophomoric members of the squad. “They gave us a lot of support … It doesn’t really matter if we’re rookies or not – when it comes to the game style, you play as one to win.”
Cochrane fans will get a chance to see the Grizz in action on home turf this Friday at 7 p.m. when they host the Calgary Canadian Irish Athletic Club at the fields near Mitford Pond.
Dixon said as much as he loves the game, he loves the family atmosphere of the sport even more.
“Rugby’s not just a sport that you play and win,” he said. “Getting to be part of the club is the best part.”
