Two games in five days proved to be a mountain to climb for the Foothills Lions.
Foothills dropped its fifth straight contest and second in less than a week in the Calgary Rugby Union on June 22 as the Bow Valley Grizzlies overpowered the Lions by a 25-5 count at Okotoks’ Kinsmen Field.
Trouble started brewing in the opening minutes for the Lions.
The Cochrane-based Grizzlies struck for a pair of majors in the first 10 minutes to leap out in-front in what was a first-half characterized by stalemate play with nary an inch gained by either team.
Foothills’ possessions were dogged by poor execution on line-outs along with some inconsistencies in the scrums.
Bow Valley would knock in a 20-yard penalty kick to grab a 13-0 advantage at the half.
The Grizzlies added to the advantage early in the second half with a clearcut victory on their scrum directly leading to a 50 yard try.
Foothills’ offence finally clicked midway into the second half when the hosts made the most of a Grizzlies’ penalty deep in their zone. Club captain Nathan Marquardt fed it to an on-charging Jordan Smith for a bulldozing five-yard scamper into the try zone.
Momentum would prove harder to lock down.
Bow Valley added one last score through elusive fly-half Hamish Wrafter to complete the 25-5 scoreline.
Lining up against one of the younger and physically ferocious teams in the league, the Lions were forced into more than a few injury substitutions with the likes of player/coach Rogan McPhie, hard-nosed forwards Eric LeGreeley, Tyler Hodgson and winger Ben Brown taking significant knocks in the contest.
Fortunately for the Lions walking wounded, there should be ample time to recover.
Foothills enjoys an extended layoff from league play before returning to the Calgary Rugby Park pitch on July 16 for its second of two meetings with the Calgary Hornets.
Elsewhere, the Lions Rugby Club will be fielding teams in the 44th Annual Stampede Sevens Rugby Tournament on July 8-9.
For more information on the Foothills Lions go to foothillslionsrfc.org
