The Foothills Falcons had their rivals out of it in the opening half of a girls rugby match last week. However, the Holy Trinity Academy Knights proved they were far from down on themselves. The Falcons jumped out to a commanding 48-0 lead by halftime, but the Knights battled back to open the second stanza with three consecutive trys in the Falcons 64-22 victory at Holy Trinity Academy on May 8. “We moved the ball better and we were communicating better in the second half,” said the Knights Olivia Kranjcec who had a pair of trys for HTA. “The main thing was we weren’t as nervous... For next time, if we play like we did in the second-half, it will be alot better.” It will take a whole lot of effort to be better than the Foothills Falcons. Foothills improved to 3-0 in the Big Sky High School Rugby Union with previous routs over the Bow Valley Bobcats and the Banff Bears. HTA was the first-team to score against Foothills in Big Sky play. As a result, the Falcons went into the HTA match confident, but made sure to keep things in check. “I think we had a lot of communication but we came in with confidence, but not too much confidence,” said hooker Rylee Krauss, who had a try in the game. “We just held our heads up high and played our game.” Three-year-veteran Larissa Little, a flanker who also contributed a try, said this is likely the best Falcons team in her career. “We have a lot of experience and we all work really well together,” Little said, “It’s not just the communication, but it’s our presence on the field. “Our main game is support, we always support each other, but we can also play it wide and play it fast. We got both things going for us.” Little said the Falcons forwards are not only strong but it also contributes to the team speed. The Falcons also have a new look at the 9 and 10, Sadie Watkins and Brogan Mior, respectively, both of whom played for the Knights last season. “It’s not only their skill but they have been playing together for so long, and 9 and 10 work very close with each other, it’s like they are the dynamic duo,” Little said. “They are also very positive.” Mior crossed the try line twice for Foothills while Watkins also touched the ball down. The Falcons’ no. 8, Callie Eagleton, was impressed with the Knights’ effort in never giving up. “They have a very fast game and their counter-rucks in the second half were dominating,” Eagleton said. HTA’s Kylie Manser, who had a try in the game, said they will learn from the loss. “We were a little bit slow off the start but we fought hard at the end,” Manser said. “At halftime, we got our heads in the game.” Brooke Palin, a prop, said the Knights are a young team, going against a veteran team. The loss dropped HTA to 0-1 in Big Sky play. The Knights next game is May 16 when they travel to Cochrane to take on Bow Valley. Also scoring trys for the Falcons were Claire Shirakawa with three and Krystal Lelond, Eden McCarthy and Eagleton with one each. The undefeated Falcons next game is May 17 when they host the Rundle Cobras as 5:45 p.m. The Falcons finished fourth among 16 teams in the Clearwater Cup in Calgary on the weekend.
