It hasn’t been the most joyous of seasons so far for the Cochrane Bears girls rugby team.
After opening their Big Sky Rugby League account with a 44-5 loss to the Banff Bears at Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field on April 20, the side again fell 41-10 on April 27 to Foothills Composite Falcons.
“This year, I think we have some of the best athletes I’ve coached,” said head coach Scott Mcgraw. “Athletically and skill-wise, they are there. The problem we have right now is we have not bonded as a team.
“They’re not ready to put their bodies on the line. These girls need to have each other’s backs, and that’s the problem right now.”
While Mcgraw – who is in his fourth year as head coach – rates Banff and the Falcons as quality sides, he feels that once his team comes together as a group there is no reason why they can’t go on to win zones.
All it is going to take is for the determination and grit he knows his girls have to come to the forefront.
“I’ve got a number of girls who put their bodies on the line every game. They’re first to the tackle and first to the ball, while others can be a bit lackadaisical and nervous at times.
“Teams like the ones we’ve played are beatable with the athletes I have. We should be putting 40 points on them easily.”
One factor Mcgraw doesn’t believe has played any part in his team’s unlucky streak however has been lack of desire.
“That would a disservice to the girls,” he said. “I’ve talked to them all and each of them wants to be here. I ask them, ‘are you having fun?’ and they all say yes. My coaching ethos is to have fun. If you’re having fun, skills and everything else come together.
“I’m kind of at a loss at to why things are like this at the moment.”
Tactically, the game plan the Bears have worked on throughout the season is one their head coach believes should crush teams at this level on a regular-basis, but unfortunately as of yet has not reaped the rewards, except on a couple occasions such as the two tries his side scored against the Falcons.
“Those tries were team ones, not individual ones,” he said. “That’s the game plan we’ve been working on. A lot of teams in the province have super athletes that can go out and decimate a team. I’m trying to build a program with girls who work for each other.
“You have to be a team, otherwise what’s the point of doing it?”
Bears next play the Springbank Phoenix on May 3 at Brawn Family Foundation Field.
After watching video footage of their previous match, Mcgraw is expecting big things from his players.
“We were missing a couple key players in our backline (against Falcons),” he admitted. “We’ve regrouped and we’ll try and get our heads in the game, and do the best we can.
“Rugby isn’t a sport of halves. You’re either full in or you’re not.”
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