Members of the École Olds High School Spartans girls' rugby team are still basking in their glory after winning the school's first rugby sevens bronze medal during provincials, held May 31-June 1 in Edmonton.
They downed Sturgeon 17-14.
"Actually this is the first year that we've had provincials for rugby sevens and we placed in it, which is kind of — amazing," said Larissa Cameron, one of the team's assistant coaches. "It's something that's never been done, and to be the first team to get bronze at provincials is monumental."
Cameron noted the team played 15s (games with teams of 15 players each) most of the season, then decided to try for rugby sevens (seven players a side).
"We had played 15s all season and then decided to qualify for sevens in the qualifying tournament and we did."
"We decided to go for sevens because we were few in numbers, and had a couple injuries, limiting our lineup.
"It was definitely a smart move to play sevens, and hopefully we can continue down this road for a while longer. I think playing sevens really forced the girls to commit to the intensity and to pick up the pace of the game, making our success at provincials sweeter."
Grade 10 student Aaralyn Longmuir is the captain of the team.
"We worked really hard to get there," she said.
Longmuir said they were down one try (five points) within the first three minutes or so, but fought back to eventually win.
"We had a little bit of a rough start and then we picked it back up and we managed to win it," she said.
"After any team scores, we huddle. I talked to the girls and we realized that, like, it was one score, right? So we could come back from that. We just had to keep our spirits up and realize that we were in it still," Longmuir said.
"Coming out of the round robin, we were first in our pool. We lost our crossover game which put us in a lower standing so we played for bronze instead of gold. But if we had won the crossover, then we would have been able to play for gold," Longmuir said. "We played four games and we won three out of the four games."
She said during the tournament, the Spartans figured out how to tighten up their game.
"Throughout this tournament, one of our major issues was we'd always have a weaker side to the field, so we had to fix the gaps, because the other team would shoot through the gaps and then we'd always be chasing them. So we had to fill in our gaps and spread out throughout the field," she said.
The crossover game was tough.
"They were fast and we were tired. We played a lot that day and (were) just exhausted, so we didn't manage to keep up with them," Longmuir said.
Longmuir notes she plays other sports but just loves rugby.
"I just like everything about it. It's different from any other sport that I've ever played," she said. "My favourite part of it is once you're off the field you're still a team, kind of thing. Other sports do that too, but I just feel for rugby, we all work together on and off the field. And we're a family."
That includes head coach George Grant.
"He really (grooms) our team for success. He's the rock for our team," Longmuir said. "All our coaches — if we're down, they pick us back up. And it's always constructive criticism, right? They're doing it for our own good. They want to see us succeed."
Longmuir loves the commitment of her teammates.
"We never quit," she said. "We played 15s in our season and for some games — like a game against Red Deer — we only had 12 girls against 15 and we played a solid game. We stayed with them. Even though we lost that game, we never gave up."
Longmuir was asked if she prefers sevens or 15s.
"I like them both, but I don't know, I've kind of started to like sevens because it's a faster game and you give it all you've got for seven minutes. Whereas 15s, it's a longer game and you kind of have to pace yourself a little bit," she said.
"But (in sevens you're only playing) seven-minute halves so our games are 14 minutes long. You just give it all you've got for those 14 minutes and then you're done."
