If the Holy Trinity Academy Knights didn't have bad luck they wouldn't have any luck at all.
If the Holy Trinity Academy Knights didn't have bad luck they wouldn't have any luck at all.
Bringing an undefeated record into the Tier I Senior Girls Rugby Championships, the Holy Trinity Academy Knights' provincial pursuit was derailed when a litany of injuries hit the squad in its tournament opener en route to an eighth-place finish in Lethbridge.
“We had nine injuries after our first game,” said Knights coach Katie Marchant. “The heat has been really hard for the girls to get used to.
“They came, they showed up and they tried, but it's a completely different mental capacity here than playing one game.”
Game number one of the championships saw the sixth-ranked Knights fall 9-7 to Calgary's Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs. More importantly, nine of the Knights' 24 players were bit by the injury bug to place a major hindrance on the team advancing any further.
The depleted squad then dropped a 49-0 result to Calgary's Bishop Grandin Ghosts.
Without the services of key veterans in scrum-half Chantelle Fournier, full-back Atlanta Evis and No. 8 Rylee Stone, the Knights had just three bench players at its disposal in the seventh-place tilt with Red Deer's Notre Dame Cougars to close out the tournament.
The Cougars would show bite from start to finish in producing a 55-5 result over HTA. Grade 12 back Colleen Rab notched the lone try for the Knights on a terrific effort taking on four Notre Dame tacklers before diving into the try-zone at the end of the first half.
Amidst the myriad of injuries, a pair of rookie Knights got a chance to shine in new positions.
“Kathleen McHugh played an excellent tournament,” the coach added. “After the first game she stepped up and went into scrum-half when she's usually a No. 8 and Maddie (Ryan) at second row had a phenomenal tournament.”
HTA won a sportsmanship award at the provincial championships, one of only 15 teams to earn the honour in the Tier I, II and III boys and girls championships in Lethbridge.
The Knights brought an undefeated record in both league play in the Big Sky Rugby Union and in exhibition into the tourney.
The competition at provincials proved to be a much different animal.
“It would be nice if they would change the league a little bit to incorporate schools in Calgary that are in Tier I,” Marchant said. “That would be better for the league in general, but we lost to a team (Winston Churchill) that we had already beaten in exhibition play.
“We were very comparable, but I think it was that mental prep part and that's what they struggled with.”
The Knights lose seven players to graduation. However, given the contributions of its Grade 10 and 11 players, there is no reason to expect the Knights to decline from the top of the Big Sky any time soon.
“It's nice to see there is talent coming up. It's looking bright. We have a lot of great girls coming up next year,” Marchant said. “I strongly believe that rugby is just as much of a mental game as the physical side and unfortunately the mental side is what overtook them all.
“It's something to work on and we will be back next year and hopefully take a banner.”
For more information go asaa.ca/championships
