Improving your tackling will get you a long way in the controlled chaos that is rugby.
Saje Rayner, whose dad Alex coaches the Jasper Cougars senior boys, believes it was his work on tackling, the central skill in the freewheeling sport with roots that date back to 1830s England, that earned him the senior boys鈥� team鈥檚 captain鈥檚 C at the start of the season and most improved player honours at the end.
鈥淚 first played in Grade 9 but I started going to practices before that,鈥� the 17-year-old Grade 11 student said. 鈥淭ackling has always been a weakness for me and I got much better this year.鈥�
There are four rugby squads in Jasper, a junior and senior team for the boys and girls. They each play between two and four other teams in their respective divisions.
The senior boys this year struggled with numbers, willing themselves through a season of games against teams with much deeper benches. That鈥檚 why they played 7s rugby instead of the full 15-per-side version of the game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just us, so you have to be committed to playing,鈥� said Rayner. 鈥淚f you played, you had no subs all season. We had 10 guys at the start; in the last tournament we only had seven or eight.鈥�
They spent nearly a month in the gym working on strength and endurance before they even stepped on the pitch.
鈥淚鈥檓 definitely happy with how we did, how we came together as a team even though there were so few of us.鈥�
Rayner was one of a number of award-winners feted at a year-end dinner at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre on June 14.
Coaches Nathan Clark, Eric Wynychuck and Steve Slack, tournament medics Mark Smiley and Travis Moorehouse, logistics coordinator Heather Legacy and trainer Sarah MacDonald were also celebrated for their contributions to the season.
Craig Gilbert
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