After giving up 75 points, the second division women’s team salvaged some pride with a converted try in Wednesday’s blowout by the Clan at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
“Those are huge points for us,” said fullback Kris Hannah, the try scorer in the 74th minute for the winless St. Albert side.
The newcomer from the Rockers gave the hometown fans something to cheer about with a lengthy dash into the try area that started from a St. Albert scrum.
“It was going to be a fullback play off the standoff. It was going out on the inside and all of a sudden I got the ball and I saw one gap after another opening up and I just kept on going. When I saw their fullback in front of me, I kind of slowed it up and waited until she made a move and that’s when I ran past her and in between the posts,” Hannah said.
Alyssa Gagan converted the second try of the season by the seconds, who are averaged a whopping 61 points-against per game in the Edmonton Rugby Union (ERU).
“I’m so proud of the team even though we did come out with a loss,” Hannah said. “It’s still fresh in the season and we’re going to turn it around.”
Last weekend the seconds were blanked 56-0 by Hannah’s former club at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
“We were a little bit messy that game but today we really stepped up to the plate. We were communicating a lot more and our plays were running really smoothly when we got the ball out. We also had great support on the ball. We were always there.”
It marked Hannah’s debut with St. Albert after six years with the Rockers (5-0), a noted Edmonton-based women’s program.
“I was a little bit nervous stepping out on that field but I put that behind me and really just tried to stick it to them.”
Hannah, 20, jumped ship when the Rockers decided to field only a second division team this year and elected not to play in premier.
“Playing for a premier team was the main reason why I came here,” said the W.P. Wagner High School graduate. “I also played with a lot of girls here on [Team] Alberta,” she said. “I like a lot of these girls and their youth. They’re exciting and I love the energy this team has. It’s phenomenal.”
The seconds are the equivalent of last year’s St. Albert Reds, a development team that finished seventh at 2-9 in the ERU. Twelve players from the starting 15 against the Rockers were on the pitch at kickoff time Wednesday.
As for the 13-1 St. Albert Blues — the 2009 ERU second division pennant winners, playoff champions and Alberta Rugby Union provincial gold medallists — they are struggling to stay afloat in the Alberta premier league. The firsts (0-4, 13 PF/305 PA) are on pace to match their winless 2006 record when they last played in premier.
“It’s not always going to be like this for us,” Hannah said. “With the high school season ending we’re getting all those girls out and as the summer progresses we’re going to get that much better with more training and more fitness.”
The first order of business for the seconds is to learn how to tackle low. The Clan (4-0), who also decided not to field a premier side this year, ran roughshod through a leaky defence for 13 tries. The parade of points started in the third minute and by the 20-minute mark it was 24-0. The halftime score was 58-0 on 10 tries and four conversions.
“Unfortunately it didn’t go our way but we still hung in there,” said Hannah, who subbed on after the first half. “There were some bad calls that were against us too but we didn’t let that faze us.”
The next game for the seconds is June 23 at 7 p.m. at the Pirates Rugby Club.
