The improvements modest, the rise steady.
Three games into the Calgary Rugby Union Second Division season the Foothills Lions continue to show signs of better times ahead with perhaps their best performance of the season showcasing its ascension in a 34-12 loss on the road to Lethbridge Rugby Club.
“Even though it was a loss it was a good game from the boys,” said Lions club coach Rogan McPhie. “After two pretty crushing defeats from the Rams and the Canucks in our first two games, the boys have really stepped up in training. Everything we’ve been working for two to three weeks has really started to show.”
Sharpening skills on set plays, in tackling and in the rucks have been points of emphasis for the coaching staff. And the improvements are already bearing fruit on the pitch.
“The tackling was fantastic, the commitment to win all the rucks were good. Our line outs were fantastic, I don’t we lost a single line out,” the coach said.
Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans alumnus Oluwamuyiwa ‘Mo’ Abolarin contributed a try in the loss.
Some injuries in the forward ranks forced a few Lions to play out of position where they filled in admirably. Black Diamond’s Bart de Jonge in particular made a sparkling debut as the Holy Trinity Academy graduate saw his first action at the crucial hooker position.
“Lethbridge has a good scrum, not the best in the league,” McPhie said of De Jonge. “But that is still a big ask for a guy having never played the position or even practiced the position.”
Foothills also received strong contributions and aggressive running from vice-captain Jordan Smith and former Foothills Composite ace Ben Myers.
The Lions drop their record to 0-3 in what’s been a road-heavy schedule to start the season.
Following a promising off-season in which player commitment from the veteran core of the team was plentiful, the coach admitted it has been a somewhat surprising start to the season.
Foothills finished last season with a record of 6-6.
“The older players, it was good commitment from those guys,” McPhie said. “It just seems that good pre-season didn’t transfer over into the regular season. It has taken the boys a bit of time to get into playing rugby again.
“It is a contact sport and it takes a bit of time to re-adjust and really for your body to adjust. Especially if you’re coming off a winter if you haven’t been tackled or tackling guys.”
The Lions are idle for two weekends and get back on the pitch for their home opener on June 18 when they welcome the Calgary Hornets to Big Rock Country. The second division showdown kicks-off at 9 a.m. at St. John Paul II Collegiate in Okotoks.
For more information on the team go to foothillslionsrfc.org
