The Olds High School Spartans girls rugby team's season came to an end on Thursday after the team lost a 27-12 decision to the Oilfields High School Drillers in Black Diamond in south central zone play-ins. Earlier in the week, the Spartans won 33-17 over the Strathmore High School Spartans in the first game of play-ins for the zone.
“(Thursday) we ran into a tough team. They had a lot of size to them and they are very aggressive. Our hats are off to them, they definitely won the game,” said George Grant, the Spartans' coach.
Grant said he and the rest of the Spartans were disappointed that the Drillers got away with questionable play, with a punch being thrown at one of the Spartans and a verbal assault being directed at the Spartans.
“The official decided to allow the teams to play it out and was not going to inject himself into the game. That wasn't the reason we lost; they outscored us, they did a better job than we did, but it's unfortunate to see a good game being marred by really poor sportsmanship … on the behalf of one team,” he said.
Grant said he was proud that none of the Spartans responded to the provocation.
“Our girls did not stoop down to that level. We kept things the way that we always have … kept it classy and worked very hard. It really shows the maturity level of these girls at our high school and how much pride they put into, not only themselves, but each other,” he said.
Grant said the Spartans gave a good effort, but frustration at some of the non-calls took the Spartans off their game just enough to allow the Drillers to capitalize on opportunities. Despite a good second half effort, the Spartans couldn't finish off scoring opportunities.
“We were in the game throughout. It was only in the last couple of minutes that they scored two of their tries to really stretch that score out, otherwise it was a 17-12 game for the majority of that time,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Spartans put together one of the best games the rugby program has ever played, Grant said.
“We played absolutely fantastic on Tuesday night… The girls really pulled together as a complete unit and I was really impressed. They were really focused and I was really proud of how they performed,” he said.
There are about five girls graduating from the team this year, but Grant said the program should be in good shape with returning players, plus 14 or 15 Grade 9 girls that could vie for spots on the team next year.
“They're definitely going to challenge some of our … returning players for starting spots because they're very … eager,” he said.
"The girls really pulled together as a complete unit and I was really impressed." George Grant, coach, OHS rugby team
