The Chatelech girls rugby team – the Eagles – was in Kamloops on April 21 for the annual Kamloops Rugby Fest.
This was the first experience with 15-a-side rugby for all of the Sunshine Coast girls and the learning curve was steep. First they faced Guildford Park of Surrey – a more experienced team who was also a lot bigger.
The girls were pinned in their own zone for the first half, but played a solid defensive game led by Eleny Robson and Megan Copping, who made some tough tackles, holding the Guildford team to only two tries.
In the second half, Jessica Nelson rounded the left corner and raced into the end zone for the Eagles’ first try. Guildford scored one more and ended with the victory.
The girls faced Salmon Arm early on Saturday morning, but were dominated by Salmon Arm’s size and strength. Although the Eagles didn’t score, their tackling continued to hold the other team back and they finished with only four tries scored against them.
In their final game, they took on Jasper and finally flourished against the Alberta team, who – despite being a senior team – was equal in size and ability.
In the first half, Jessica and Tiffany Aldwin raced in for two tries, though Jasper came back and tied it up. In the second half, the Eagles knocked at the door on three separate occasions.
Eva Robson swung the ball from left side to right side, handing off to Maia Gabriel who was stopped at the goal line. Sasha Kardos-Macchiato almost snuck in on an individual effort, while Aiyana August tried to cut back after a cross field run, but was thwarted a yard away from scoring.
Jasper scored one more to win, but the girls felt a sense of accomplishment at their high level of effort and continuous pressure throughout the match. To top it off, Jasper rated them their favourite team in terms of attitude. The girls’ next game is a home game against Handsworth on Friday, April 29 at 3:30 p.m. at Chatelech.
