Rugby players just want to compete
Without D8 leagues, teams play exhibitions, tournaments
KITCHENER — They are the nomads of high school rugby, student-athletes that put in long hours of training but have limited options when it comes to competition.
The boys and girls of St. Mary’s High School, as well as the girls of Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, have competed in tournaments and exhibition games this spring because the District 8 Athletic Association didn’t have enough entries to create its own leagues.
It’s a situation that could prompt D8 officials to approach another association, most likely the Guelph-based District 10 league, about the possibility of joining its ranks next year. The idea is expected to be discussed at a June 1 meeting, said St. Mary’s teacher Tom Mandich, who is coaching the boys’ team this spring.
“Down the road, I don’t see us having our own league so hopefully someone will take us in,” said Mandich, who led the Eagles to a Waterloo County (WCSSAA) championship in 2012.
“It could be District 10 or it could be WCSSAA, we just want to play.”
The WCSSAA boys’ rugby league allowed District 8 schools to compete as guests until 2015, but the Catholic and public boards severed athletic ties prior to the ’15-16 school year. District 8 had its own boys’ rugby league last year with Resurrection, Rockway and St. Benedict also fielding teams, but those three schools didn’t field teams this spring.
Ironically, the WCSSAA boys’ league has just seven teams competing this season, which is thought to be an all-time low.
The District 8 girls’ rugby league had three teams last year — St. Mary’s, Resurrection and St. David — and played a roundrobin, four-game regular-season schedule.
This year, Resurrection and St. Mary’s will play in a District 8 championship game next week for the right to move on to a Central Western Ontario (CWOSSA) play-in game against a team from the Owen Sound area. The boys of St. Mary’s are District 8 champions by default and will also play a team from the Owen Sound area to compete at CWOSSA.
On Wednesday, the girls of St. Mary’s and Resurrection braved the elements to compete in a 13-team tournament at Woodside Park that included four WCSSAA teams and seven others from outside the region.
For players such as Maria Sanchez, a Grade 12 student at St. Mary’s who is passionate about rugby, the tournament and exhibition games help fill a void. The third-year player calls the lack of a District 8 league “frustrating and disappointing” but couldn’t imagine not being part of the current Eagles roster.
“We play because it’s what we do and what we love. For people like me, this has been hard because it’s my last year of high school and it sucks that we don’t have a league to play in,” she said.
“We practise so hard and sometimes it feels like it’s for nothing, but at the end of the day we are going to play in a D8 final and we will be able to show how hard we practised and how we came together as a team.”
Sanchez and fourth-year player Makenna Edissi say the opportunity to compete at CWOSSA would be a nice way to finish their high school careers. They are also hopeful something can be worked out for girls from District 8 member schools that want to compete in a league next year.
“I hope they can work something out. If we were actually in a league, I think we would be a very strong team,” said Edissi. “It’s tough without a league, but going to CWOSSA would definitely make it worth it … 100 per cent.”
A pair of former St. Mary’s standouts who are currently at the University of Waterloo, Jessie Brush and Laura Franco, have returned to their roots this year to help coach the team alongside teacher-coaches Jason Hergott and Julia Horgan.