Bow Valley Grizzlies put their foot on the gas and didn’t let up until three minutes from full time.
In that three minutes, Calgary Canucks scored the last two tries of the match.
No matter. The end result went 51-29 to Grizz in Calgary Rugby Union Second Division men’s opening-round playoff play at Cochrane’s Mitford Pond Rugby Pitch.
Until that point, Bow Valley was in control and virtually coasting to victory, setting up Saturday’s (Sept. 19) second-round playoff fixture vs. Calgary Hornets.
“It’s about time,” Grizzlies player/coach Ty Hawes said following the match. With the win, Grizzlies dismissed a team that had eliminated them from playoffs the previous two seasons. “They (Canucks) brought a really good side. We manned up an put out a really solid effort.”
Grizzlies blindside flanker Mackenzie Tivendale opened Bow Valley scoring with a try converted by Ollie Mayo. Prop Karl Bauer picked the perfect time to score his first of the season, bowling Canucks across the line before putting the ball down for a score. Dave Evans went for a long gallop down the west sideline for a score as did Connor Gilbert. To go with three converts, Mayo also booted a field goal from about 35 metres to give Grizzlies a 30-7 lead at the half.
Calgary regrouped at the break and opened the second half with a quick score.
“We’ll address that at practice,” noted Grizzlies scrum half Ian Ames. “Hornets next week is going to be a really tough side. We’ll look to pick up a few things as well as look it over. See where the holes were made. Absolutely. At the end, it comes down to effort.”
But there was no shortage of Grizzlies effort for the majority of the match. Particularly encouraging for Ames, in his capacity as primary ball distributor out of scrums and rucks, was the play of the backs. Especially damaging to Canucks were Evans and full back James Patterson, who was chasing down kicks all game and dishing out a good measure of hurt wherever he could. He capped the game with a gaudy individual effort, leaving three Canucks tackling air before streaking 40 metres down the east sideline for the score.
“We have multiple, different weapons. So many different options,” Ames related. “It’s really nice to see that when you’re fighting for the ball down in the rucks and you have all the guys fighting really hard. Then you see a guy do that and it really pays off the hard work you put into getting it.”
Gilbert and Evans each scored their second of the match in the second half as Grizzlies put the game so far out of reach that Calgary’s two late scores could only narrow the margin of Bow Valley’s victory. Now it’s off to tackle Hornets (9-3).
“I want a little bit more of an impact from the guys off the bench,” Hawes mentioned. “I expect a little bit more from them. I think Canucks scored maybe three of the last four tries. Can’t let that happen going forward. That’s a mental thing.
“You have to have that killer instinct. You’ve got to want it more than the other team.”
Grizzlies face Calgary Hornets Sat., Sept. 19, at Calgary Rugby Park, 2 p.m. kick.
