Cochrane Rugby left it all on the field this season.
Losing 20-5 to Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) Knights of Okotoks in Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association South Central Zone boy’s play May 28 in Calgary, the decision was a victory of sorts.
Losing 36-0 to HTA in regular-season play, Cochrane held Knights to just four scores in the one-and-done Zone playoff while denting their defence for a try.
“The beginning of the season was a bit rough for us,” said Cochrane Rugby scrum half Rylen Waugh, a Grade 10 at Bow Valley High School. “We sure came through in the end and started to play really well.
“We only held them to five against their top-15 (before Knights started substituting players). The boys really came through big. We played our game. The defence played great today. A lot of good tackles. We really came together and played our top game.”
The Cochrane Rugby side is a combined effort between Bow Valley and Cochrane high schools. Program architect Corina Bauer of Bow Valley High, who over the last three seasons has marshalled the combined high-school programs (boy’s and girl’s teams) in Cochrane, has enlisted the support of Bow Valley Grizzlies club player/coaches Ty Hawes (boys) and Scott Megraw (girls). Her son Karl Bauer, a Grizzlies player, also works with the boy’s and girl’s teams.
Cochrane’s high-school rugby program, which plays regular-season fixtures in the Big Sky Rugby Union featuring high-school teams from Rocky View Sports Association and Foothills Athletic Council, is steadily improving as the seasons roll on.
“We had quite a few new guys this year,” Hawes said of the Cochrane Rugby boy’s program. “It’s great to see. The program is just going to get better and better. I think it has grown in the last three years, really. And we’ll just keep doing it.”
Including playoffs, Cochrane Rugby boys finished with a 4-3 record.
In girl’s South Central Zone playoff play, HTA downed Cochrane Rugby 45-7. Cochrane Rugby girls finished 2-4 on the season.
