It was their’s to lose and has been all season.
From the first game to the last, the Dauphin Clippers rugby teams dominated the Westman High School Rugby and it culminated with both the girls and boys celebrating the first championship in team history.
After hammering Souris, 67-0 in their semifinal match, last Wednesday, the Clippers girls secured their first league title with a 36-3 win over Rivers.
Tanya Devos and Emma Fox each scored three tries to lead Dauphin past Souris, while Chloe Fletcher had a pair. Megan Thompson, Jana Manzano and Paityn Bourgouin each had a single try and Brooke Miner kicked six converts.
In the championship game, Fox again scored three tries with singles coming from Devos, Thompson and Bree Walker. Thompson added two converts and Ruth Evans had one.
For Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak it was his first championship, as well, after coaching in the league since 2010. He said it felt amazing.
“The girls put in a great effort. There was a lot of building blocks that were put in place for the success of this program and it all starts back with the grassroots,” he said, adding the Clippers benefited from the efforts of the Parkland Pirates youth program coaches Gerald Lopez, Becky McGregor, Codi Harrigan, Mark Symchych and many others that have been involved.
“This year really is the harvest year of the first years of that youth program. And it goes to show what it means for the high school program,” Sarkonak said. “Now they’re graduating out of it and, hopefully, the Dauphin Mavericks men’s team and the Lady Mavericks, with them trying to get back and going again, that they’ll reap the fruits of the labour from that youth program.”
Dauphin led 17-3 at halftime, but the Clippers were their own worst enemy at times, getting called for a number of penalties. They were able to clean up their game in the second half and pulled away from their opponents.
“I told them, they earned the right to play in this game with the work that they put into this season. And, although it was a final, it’s still just another game. And you’ve got to go out there and play your game. Don’t take anybody for granted and just play together as a team. Not individuals. Don’t shoulder anything and work together. And if you do, good things will happen. And it did,” Sarkonak said.
Although he is unsure of what they may face next weekend in Winnipeg, Sarkonak likes his team’s chances at provincials.
“I’m very confident going into provincials with the squad that we have here,” he said.
The girls will open the provincial tournament, Friday at 4:15 p.m., against Winnipeg’s Vincent Massey in one semifinal, while the other will see Rivers battle St. Mary’s Collegiate.
The trip to Ireland earlier this year was a factor in the Clippers successful season. Although not all of the girls made the trip to the Emerald Isle, the ones that went got a leg up on the competition, Sarkonak said.
“They hit the ground running once they came back and they never looked back at all,” he said.
On the boy’s side, Guzman Garcia and Joseph Lopez each had two tries to lead Dauphin to a 38-0 win over Vincent Massey in their semifinal victory.
Rhett Tkachyk and Louis Prevot added singles and Prevot kicked four converts.
Matthew Zurba led the way in the championship game against Crocus Plains, scoring three tries, while Lopez had one in a 26-0 victory.
Prevot had three converts.
Minutes after the trophy presentation, Clippers coach Aaron Miner said it felt a bit surreal.
“It’s been 10 years in the making,” he said.
The Clippers boys were called for a number of penalties throughout the game, but they were unable to overcome them.
“When they took those penalties, they knew that they were legit penalties. They managed to maintain their composure and not talk back to the refs this time. And they kept it in line and made those tackles when they needed to,” Miner said.
Crocus Plains made it interesting several times, coming close to the goalline on a few occasions. But Dauphin’s defence came up strong and kept their opponents from scoring.
Miner credits that to the player’s commitment and dedication.
“I credit it to their going to the gym every day. Their training. Just the physical shape that they came into the season with this year has just been tremendous,” he said. “Each and every one of these guys goes to the gym or runs after practice or does whatever it takes to become a better player. And it was proven today. We’re champions for a reason.”
Like Sarkonak, Miner said the trip to Ireland was a huge factor in the team’s success.
“Over half of them went to Ireland and they were training quite heavily before we went to Ireland, during the Ireland trip and then the training just didn’t stop when we got back. We had another month before our first game once we returned from Ireland and the training intensified,” he said. “It just got even stronger, even harder. The boys knew what we had. They knew that this was our so-called harvest year, we like to call it in rugby, where you harvest, because we had a big group of Grade 12s. It’s just amazing to watch today.”
Although they will face some challenges at provincials, Miner likes his team’s chances.
“It’ll be a great tournament. We’re looking forward to it, this Friday and Saturday in Winnipeg,” he said.
The boys will open, Friday at 3 p.m., against Dakota Collegiate, while Crocus Plains will face St. Paul’s in the other semifinal.
All games will be livestreamed on the Veo Live app. Download the app and follow the link - veolive.page.link/APRZ or look for the Crusaders club logo.
