Three Sunshine Coast rugby players have returned from Alaska’s Field of Dreams with some great memories and tales to tell, but the Canadian Classics players couldn’t secure a win this time.
The annual summer Classics tour sees teams from Canada and the U.S. square off in a new mystery location each year. Classics teams consist of former high level rugby players aged 30 and over who are handpicked to play.
This year Canadian coach Tom Woods brought 20 players to the Classics event in Alaska, held on the Alaskan Mountain Rugby Grounds, aka the Field of Dreams, July 13 to 16.
Among those chosen were three cousins – current Coasters Tyrel Brackett and Rick Allen and former Coaster John Allen, who now lives in Vancouver.
“The Field of Dreams is just an amazing pitch, ” John said this week. “Walking from the parking lot up this little path to the field, you don’t know what to expect and you get up there and it just blows your mind. It’s one of the best fields I have ever seen and it’s up in the mountains of Alaska, so there’s a nice view of the ocean.”
John was eager to play on the world-renowned field but he wasn’t able to take part in the game against the U.S. due to an injury just before the game was set to start. “I pulled my calf right before we were supposed to take the field so that was a big upset for me,” John said. “There’s always next year, hopefully.”
John’s injury provided him a front row seat to watch the action and he was proud of the effort his team put in, even though they lost the match against the U.S. by about 13 points.
“The U.S. always shows a good team whenever we play in the U.S. We’ve never beaten the U.S. on their home soil,” John said. “I was hoping this year was going to be the year, but we did have a pretty good team and it could have gone either way.”
He said after the matchup the owner of the Field of Dreams offered players “unlimited beer” and a huge salmon feast, which helped ease any hard feelings.
Although there is a clear rivalry between the Canadian and U.S. Classics teams, there is also a camaraderie between the two that was evident in Alaska.
“Some of the guys went fishing and we golfed in a scramble with the U.S. team on Friday morning before training,” John said.
He also noted the Canadian team joined the U.S. team to take on a New Zealand touring team while at the Field of Dreams.
Unfortunately the melded team still couldn’t beat the team from New Zealand.
“They’re really, really good. It’s kind of like how Canada is with hockey. They grow up from four or five years old with a rugby ball in their hand,” John said. “We don’t usually start rugby until high school here. They’re so much more ahead of us.”
The summer Classics tour is a fun event that acts as a precursor to the main event held each fall – the World Rugby Classic. This year’s World Rugby Classic will be held in Bermuda from Nov. 4 to 11.
John and his cousins all hope to be selected for the Classics team that heads to Bermuda later this year. The roster won’t be released until September.
