It’s always preferable to enter the playoffs on a high note.
So when Bow Valley Grizzlies mauled Calgary Canadian Irish Athletic Club 63-3 on Aug. 29, they were setting the table for a strong playoff push in their inaugural season of Calgary Rugby Union Second Division men’s play. The emphatic final regular-season victory on their home ground puts them on the right foot, and in the right frame of mind, heading into the postseason.
“We came out and performed great. We executed our plans perfectly. We suffocated them,” said Grizzlies flanker Connor Gilbert following the Irish match.
It was the back row doing the damage. Fullback Dave Evans ran for four tries with James Patterson scoring twice and Paul O’Grady going over for a score. Everything aligned for Grizzlies (8-4)against the struggling Irish side (2-10), which finished out of the playoffs.
“You all get on the same page. You get some chemistry. Today, the backs, it was like we knew where each other was without looking,” Evans related. “Unbelievably fun to play that game. We’re finally starting to gel as a team. Perfect timing. Last game of the season we looked like a team. We all made each other look really good.”
And it bodes well for CRU Second Division men’s playoffs, which begin the weekend after Labour Day. But Grizzlies can’t get too confident.
“Good to get the confidence level up. But we’re playing against a team that didn’t make the playoffs. You don’t want to get cocky and get lazy going into the first game of the playoffs,” Evans cautioned. “We’re going to have a lot more difficult competition in the playoffs.”
Finishing their first regular season of Div. 2 men’s play, up from Div. 3 a season ago, Grizz player/coach Ty Hawes is satisfied with the Cochrane-based team’s performance.
“I would say it’s been very successful,” Hawes stated. “The big thing is the boys are competing hard, and they’re having fun. What else can you really ask for? That’s what we’re trying to get out of this game. Getting people out on a Saturday getting some activity in. What else is the point of it?”
