Try as they might, the Bow Valley Grizzlies couldn’t finish the deal.
Riding a 15-game win streak, the Cochrane-based men’s rugby team ran into a stubborn and determined Calgary Canucks side Sept. 27 in the match that mattered most, losing 18-15 in the Calgary Rugby Union Div. 3 men’s final.
Tied 15-15, the dagger came on a Canucks goal kick as the clock ran out. The ref added two minutes of injury time, but Canucks thwarted Bow Valley’s furious attempt to equalize.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Grizzlies head coach Ty Hawes said. “But life goes on.”
The most disappointing aspect of the threadbare loss after five-straight months of convincing victories is the Grizzlies did not play their best rugby in the final. Missed kicks and dropped balls at key points in the match handed much-needed impetus to a Calgary side fighting tooth-and-nail for every inch of ground against undefeated (15-0) Bow Valley.
“We didn’t quite execute the game plan we had in place,” Hawes admitted. “It was a little strange because we made errors we didn’t make the whole season. But we maded them in this game. Maybe there were a bit of nerves and stuff there, too.
“All credit to the Canucks. They knew what we were going to try and do and stopped it.”
In the first half, Grizzlies forwards heaved the pile over the line for a try, followed by a Cameron Birch score. Colin Brown dashed down the east sideline to give Grizzlies a 15-10 edge in the second half. But Calgary countered and the play went back and forth before Canucks booted the ball through the uprights for the definitive score one minute from time.
“It’s something we have to look at and learn from, and move on from,” Hawes surmised. “If we can keep this squad together, there’s really big things ahead.”
