Rogues Clinch Win as Rugby Returns to the East Kootenays
Elk Valley Bulls v Rocky Mountain Rogues
August 14th, 2021, Marysville
By Min Merritt
On a hot Saturday afternoon in August, with many people choosing to stay cool by the lake, a group of young, and not so young, men from the Elk Valley assembled on a grassy pitch in Marysville to put their bodies on the line for the sake of that glorious battle that is rugby. The Elk Valley Bulls were to take on Cranbrook-based Rocky Mountain Rogues.
Both teams came out very strong producing an intense first quarter. All players from both sides put in hard tackles for the full 80 minutes. Of note for the Bulls was Jonty Sullivan playing his first game for the club managing the highest tackle count, and Darren Shyback and Luke MacDonald both chasing down players to make try saving tackles. Even so by half time the experienced Rogues team were on top with 2 tries, despite having received a red card for a high tackle early in the game. With a third try early in the second half it seemed the Bulls were losing the chance of victory. Early problems with the Bulls’ lineout were rectified and they won three on the Rogues’ throw. The Bulls dominated the scrum throughout pushing the Rogues off the ball numerous times. Eventually all the hard work paid off and the shift in momentum resulted in the Bulls being awarded a penalty which scrumhalf, Somhairle Greene, took quickly catching the opposition off guard. He side-stepped and spun his way over the line for the Bulls’ first try. Minutes later, MacDonald, playing at fly-half, scored a tremendous individual effort; spotting a gap at the halfway line and outrunning the defence to score a try under the posts. He converted this as well as the previous try.
The Bulls had come back from 20 v 0 to 20 V 14 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Exhausted by the heat and lack of match practice both teams were playing with their last reserves of energy. Remarkably for front five players; Ryan Armstrong, Paul Anderson, and Dustin Murray, usually replaced earlier in the match due to the physical demands of their positions, stayed on for almost the whole match. Pete Dudman, Isaah Hennesey and Adam Van Wijk managed to survive the full 80 minutes in the pack. The latter doing so in his first ever game of rugby!
Sadly, the fairy-tale ending was not to be. The pressure was building in the Bulls’ 22, there was more valiant defensive work, but eventually the line was broken, a Rogue pounding his way through for a final try that sealed the match 27 v 14 to the Rogues.
Speaking after the match, captain, Somhairle Greene summed up his team’s performance, “It was a tough, physical game, with Cranbrook coming out of the blocks fast. We struggled to capitalise on our early possession and unfortunately that cost us in the end. The Rogues like to counter-ruck and slow the ball down - it's something that we will look to address in our training sessions leading up to the KRU Final on September 11th. We finished strong, scoring twice in the second half, so there's an optimistic feeling in the camp that we will go out and beat them on home soil".
Meanwhile coach Pete Dudman was encouraged by his young team’s efforts “We didn’t get the result we wanted but after only 4 training sessions the result wasn’t important. What I wanted to see was commitment, heart and desire which the team delivered in bucket loads. The effort on defence was great and Cranbrook should have scored more given the amount of possession they had. Lots to work on before our next game, but I have no doubt we will turn it around. Special shout out to all of the guys who made their debuts, all 8 of them!
Come to Prentice Park on September 11th at midday to cheer the Elk Valley Bulls on as they attempt to set the record straight with their old rivals, the Rogues. Let’s see who will get to lift the Kootenay Cup for 2021.
