The St. Albert U16 boys ran out of gas after a roaring start in Wednesday’s city final against the Clansmen.
They led 15-0 at the 20-minute mark and 20-12 with three minutes gone in the second half, only to lose 29-20 at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
“After those early tries we really started to burn out,” said fullback Jesse Kushneryk, who ran in St. Albert’s first and last tries of the match. “At the end we got low on ourselves and lost our heads.”
The final kicked off with 13 players per side, but a head injury to scrum-half Matthew Lomas before halftime left St. Albert short a man for the rest of the match.
St. Albert was also missing four players because of commitments with the U14 and U16 provincial teams at the Rugby Canada National Age Group Festival in Calgary.
“In the end it came down to subs; they had them and we didn’t,” said head coach Paul Flynn.
The pre-game bagpiper had barely finished tooting his horn when Kushneryk opened the scoring with a short burst on an overlap. After the ball was swung wide left through several hands, he used the winger as a decoy before plowing across the try line with several defenders in tow.
“We were pumped going into the game. You should’ve heard us in the dressing room,” said Kushneryk, who had to get bandaged up during a blood break late in the first half to stop a leaking forehead before he was allowed back on the pitch.
In the ninth minute Rudy Spector darted into the try area to put St. Albert up by 10. After a blazing run down the wing that almost went the distance, St. Albert kept the ball alive inside the 22-metre line for Spector to finish the play off.
The third try, a well executed pick and go, was a team effort as a convoy of St. Albert players escorted the scorer into the try area.
Two minutes later, the Clan busted loose with a galloping run for points. Their second try, scored off a ruck from close range, was converted with nine minutes left until halftime.
The half ended with the Clan in the St. Albert try area, but the ball was held up by the reeling hometown squad.
Early in the second half, Kushneryk gave his team a big boost with a devilish foray into enemy territory. After faking out a couple of defenders with some shake-and-bake, he accelerated into open space for his second try of the night.
After that, it went all downhill for St. Albert as the Clan exploded for three tries and one conversion. Missed tackles plagued St. Albert as the Clan turned up the heat offensively.
“Our biggest struggle was our own rucks. We were losing a lot of them after the first half of the first half,” Kushneryk said. “It was a well fought game; they just played better than we did, I guess.”
Despite the disappointing loss, only the second defeat in the summer fixtures, Kushneryk was thrilled to see how everybody pulled together while short of bodies. Graham Loerke, a U14 player, turned in a strong effort after Lomas left the game as some of the guys were forced to change positions in his absence.
“I’m one of the older guys on the team and I couldn’t be more proud of the young guys,” said Kushneryk, 16.
Last week in league play, St. Albert beat the Clan 35-10 playing 15 per side, but had to borrow a player from the Edmonton club to make it a full 15.
“We struggled a bit with attendance [Wednesday’s line-up included three Lep/Tigers] this year but the guys that came out all the time had unbelievable hearts. It was excellent for St. Albert rugby and I’m glad we had a nice big fan base out watching us tonight,” said Kushneryk, a Grade 11 Paul Kane High School student.
Flynn was also overjoyed by his team’s performance, regardless of the outcome.
“We did a lot of things very well. We barely lost a lineout all game, either offensively or defensively. We tackled well in the first half and for most of the second half. We also took advantage of the chances that were given to us,” said the hard-nosed rucker and mauler in senior men’s rugby.
