Try, try again
Glace Bay Panthers rugby teams to host provincials
The Glace Bay Panthers will play host to the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Division 2 Rugby Championships starting today at the Hub Field in Glace Bay.
On the boys side, the Panthers bested the Riverview Rugrats 40-24 on May 23 in Membertou to claim their fifthstraight Highland Region championship.
This weekend, Glace Bay and Riverview will be two of only three teams competing for the NSSAF banner. They will be joined by Eastern Shore Schooners of Musquodoboit Harbour.
Despite the lack of mainland representation, Panthers head coach Wayne Jenkins said his team is still hungry for a provincial title.
“If we can hit our rucks clean and make some clean tackles, push the ball down and use our speed, we should be fine,” he said. The Glace Bay boys challenge Eastern Shore in the opener today at 9 a.m. while Riverview takes on Glace Bay at 3:30 p.m. Following Saturday’s 12 p.m. game between Eastern Shore and Riverview, the two teams with the best records will meet in the championship at 3:30 p.m.
The girls tournament has a larger field of six teams. Pool ‘A’ includes West Kings Wolverines of Auburn, Riverview Rugrats and the Millwood Knights of Middle Sackville. Pool ‘B’ features the host Glace Bay Panthers, Hants East Tigers of East Hants and Northeast Kings Titans of Canning.
The Highland Region champion Panthers girls blanked the Rugrats 33-0 to win their fourth local banner in a row. The hosts open play today at 11 a.m. versus Northeast Kings. Following
the opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m., Riverview challenges Millwood at 1:15 p.m.
“I’m from the mainland and yes, mainland teams are tough, but I’m trying to bring the culture here that we play the same rugby that we do on the mainland,” said Glace Bay girls coach Marcus Cookson. “I have girls on my team that play on the (Nova Scotia Keltics team) and I
have 10 great players that could potentially play at that level.
“I feel that we’re just as strong as any mainland team and this year, I really want to put a mark down for everybody and let them know that we’re here and we’re going to let everybody know how tough Glace Bay is this year.”
Following today’s roundrobin play, the top two girls teams in each pool advance to the semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. The winners meet in the provincial final at 2:30 p.m.
*For a complete schedule for each tournament, see page B4.