LRC topped in provincial final

The Lethbridge Rugby Club men’s Division II team’s quest for their first provincial title in 15 years fell just short. The LRC was defeated 46-21 by the Leduc Crude in the provincial final Saturday afternoon in Calgary.

One week after capturing this year’s Calgary Rugby Union title — also in Calgary — a provincial title the team last won in 2003 wasn’t in the cards as a tough Crude team marched to the win.

“As hard as it is losing in the provincial final, we’re still celebrating our first city championship since 2003,” said LRC head coach Ryan McKeown. “Leduc had a phenomenal side and came at us hard all game. They played their game from the start and unfortunately we didn’t play ours. They came out the better side (Saturday) and the win was well-deserved.

“That’s the hardest thing for us, knowing we didn’t play our best and didn’t give them the game we intended.”

The sting of the loss aside, McKeown noted his team’s CRU Division II title they earned the week before with a win over the Calgary Saracens as well as the success of the LRC’s Division III men’s team and the women’s team.

“We had a phenomenal year as a club,” he said. “Our women’s side finished first in the regular season and our Division III (men’s) team finished second and our Division II team did what we haven’t done in 15 years. I think a lot of us are already looking forward to next season realizing the improvements we can make and get there again next year. All in all, this season was a move in the right direction for our club, both on and off the field. We hope to see everybody return next year and continue that trend.

“I’m incredibly proud of the improvement in our club across all the divisions and excited to see what we’re able to do next year. We have a lot of potential for the future.”

Hilamani Na’a, Alan Nielsen and Foster Arens scored the LRC tries in Saturday’s championship.

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