Fielding an inexperienced lineup, the Dauphin Clippers White boys rugby team won its first game of the Westman High School Rugby season, beating the Vincent Massey Vikings, 31-10, last Wednesday.
Ivan Vrasko led the way with three tries for Dauphin, while Body Kaminski and Garrett Urichen had singles. Vrasko also had three converts.
Clippers coach Henk DuPlessis noted 90 per cent of the team never played 15s rugby before.
“And I saw a lot of heart out there today. These boys, mostly Grade 9 and 10 boys played against these Grade 11 and 12 boys and the score speaks for itself,” he said.
The Clippers gained the momentum right away, scoring within the first two or three minutes of the game.
“That was one thing we told the guys. We need to get the first points on the board and that’s what happened. And I think that got them going,” DuPlessis said.
The JV team will have a busy week ahead with three games, starting tonight when they host the Crocus Plains Plainsmen in a game rescheduled from Apr. 23. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Dauphin then hits the road for a game in Souris on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., and then face the Dauphin Green varsity squad, Saturday at 2 p.m.
The team’s conditioning will be put to the test with the busy schedule.
“We told the boys they’re going to need to do it themselves. We only practice twice a week, so I hope the boys put it in to get into shape. But we’ve got a small squad, so we can only hope for the best,” DuPlessis said.
The Clippers girls ended the regular season with a 51-5 win over Souris on Thursday.
Kiersten Vandekerckhove and Paityn Bourgouin had two tries each, with Bella Williams, Alina Genik, Desiree Lariviere, Mila Heschuk and Halie Garlinski adding singles. Vandekerckhove also had three converts.
The Clippers finish the regular season 4-0, scoring 350 points, while only allowing 10 against.
Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak and his staff had this date circled since the schedule was released.
“They’re a well-coached team. They’ve got some really good players. And they gave us a run for our money,” he said.
“I think our girls were surprised in the beginning. You can’t blame the weather, because both teams were playing in it.”
Given the team’s success over the last few years, Sarkonak said it is easy to get complacent at times.
“And the last few games have actually proven that to us. But the girls were able to flip the switch and come together and come out with the win,” he said.
The Clippers will now wait to find out who they play in the semifinals scheduled for May 26 and 27. The season ends this week, with games, Thursday and Friday.
The Clippers Green varsity team beat Souris, 35-17 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Julien Lopez had three tries, Ben Miner and Josh Yakielashek had one each and Jordan Evans had four converts, while Colten Miner had one.
Coach Aaron Miner was not pleased with the team’s play.
“Souris brings out the worst in us. We knew the game plan going in. We were too anxious, too nervous. We didn’t play our game,” he said.
“Tackles weren’t executed. We knew their routes. We knew where they were coming from and we just couldn’t put it all together. Nerves were just too high.”
While pleased with the win, Miner recognizes that if they play that way against a stronger team, the Clippers wouldn’t stand a chance.
“We can’t continue to play like that and expect to compete against the prep schools,” he said.
Miner hopes the Clippers can get their game a little tighter when they face the JV team.
“I think we’re going to try and use this game as a learning experience for both sides and try to incorporate some of our set plays and have the other teams try to defend against it,” he said.
“We know each other’s plays and we’ll have a good time with it. We hope to have some fun with that game.”