The Springbank Phoenix’ first season as part of a girls’ rugby league will be one to remember.
The team won the Zones championship less than two weeks ago, hosted an exhibition tournament on June 4 and played for the provincial championship this past weekend in Calgary, after the Rocky View Weekly went to press.
Although it was the team’s inaugural campaign in an actual league setting, manager Gary Moore said he was impressed with the level of competitiveness and passion his players showed.
“For being our first year in the league, it’s been a pretty solid season,” he said.
“We had 40 girls come out and they all seem to love the sport. I’m very proud of our team for the accomplishments they’ve had this year.”
The provincials, where Springbank was the No. 7 seed out of eight teams, featured a winner’s and loser’s A-side/B-side formula, so winning the first game would be essential for the Phoenix’ success, Moore said. The team’s first game was on June 10 against No. 2 seed Rimbey.
“We don’t know our competition very well, but we’ll be playing with confidence,” he said. “Our team doesn’t have any all-stars, but we play as a team. Hopefully we’ll do well at this weekend’s tournament.”
Springbank should have gone in as the No. 4 seed, following its Zones win over High River’s Highwood High School, but the opposing team mounted a protest over the Phoenix’ use of a Grade 9 player at the senior level, which is not permitted.
The decision was made that both teams would still qualify for provincials, with Highwood taking the higher seed, but neither team would then claim the Zones’ banner.
As preparation for provincials, and as way to celebrate the season, Springbank also hosted and won a one-day sevens tournament on June 4.
Sevens rugby is a quicker version featuring only seven players, compared to the usual 15. The Phoenix split its team into three separate rosters for the event.
“It was the first time we held something like this and it was a great success,” Moore said. “Everyone had a great time and nobody wanted to leave. It wasn’t about who won or lost – it was all about the camaraderie of rugby. All the girls from each team got along very well and teams were already asking about next year. All the girls got to play and that was the most important aspect.”
