Pagan women persevere to win TRU title
Peterborough Pagans women’s team capped a remarkable turnaround season by winning the Toronto Rugby Union championship on Saturday.
After winning two games last season, the Pagans beat the Oshawa Vikings 44-33 in the TRU A Division final to finish the year 8-2 at Marham’s Fletcher’s Fields.
It was a back and forth battle with the Pagans going up 19-0 and Oshawa rallying to within 19-14. The Pagans rebuilt a 36-14 lead only to see the vikings close within 36-33 before Peterborough finished them off.
“They were harder to kill than Rasputin,” said Craig Harris, who returned to coach the Pagans after a number of years away so that recent coach Shannon burton could return to playing full-time.
Under burton the Pagans won the TRU in 2010 and reached the final in 2011, 12, 13 and 14 before losing in the semis in 2015 and in the opening round last year. The 2016 campaign was a tough one. With a number of veterans not returning the team struggled to get enough players. This season, they got buy-in from players at Trent University and Fleming College, where burton coaches, and local girls who either returned to the fold or came out for the first time. They had 20 at games and as many as 30 at practices.
“I think it’s awesome for Shannon Burton,” said Harris. “She’s been playing for the Pagans longer than some of the girls on the team have been alive. Mckayla Dick is 16 years old and Shannon has played 17 years for the Pagans. She’s been there through early success when she was younger and some lean years and has been coaching. She wanted to go out just playing and to go out in style and I’m so happy we were able to do that for her.”
Joanna Bronson led the charge with six tries, a penalty kick and two convert, 37 of the team’s 44 points, in what could be her final game as a Pagan. The Fleming grad and Peterborough native is moving to Alberta to start a new job.
“That was her swan song and she had a game-and-a-half today,” Harris said. “She went out in style. It was very cool for people like Celeigh (Harris, Craig’s daughter) who hasn’t been a part of the team for a while to come back and be part of a team where everything came together. We played good solid, winning rugby.”
Craig Harris said it’s special on many levels for many reasons pointing to captain Emily Challice who persevered through last season’s struggles.
“She’s the best captain any coach could ask for,” said Harris. “They’d have 12 or 13 girls show up (last year) and knew they wouldn’t win and they just went out and played. The club owes those girls a debt for keeping the program alive so that this year could happen. A bunch of Shannon’s players from Fleming and a bunch of the Trent girls and some community girls all came together and recognized, probably during the first week, we could all do something special. They showed up and worked hard and they did it.”
Burton said it was a triumphant moment for what has been a difficult summer in the personal lives of many on the team. Harris recently had surgery as he battles pancreatic cancer, Burton lost her grandmother recently and took time off to be with her in palliative care and others have faced challenges.
“It was a really great feeling with all the obstacles we’ve had to overcome as a team,” said Burton, 33, who said she hasn’t ruled out a return next year. “A lot of the girls have had life challenges come up, Craig with his challenges and I’ve had some big events over the past six weeks. To be able to bring it all together despite all of that just made it even better.
“We knew we were capable of it. After everything we’ve gone through we just had to finish it. We had to take it all the way.”
Amber Teasdale had the other Pagans try while Celeigh Harris also kicked a convert.