Merritt Secondary School girls’ rugby head coach Molly Brigden could be forgiven for smiling from ear-to-ear last Thursday following her team’s convincing 20-5 win over the visiting Penticton Secondary Lakers at Voght Park.
It was not what the field boss was expecting from her very young and very inexperienced squad, which boasts just six returning players and a whole mess of rookies.
“We have 24 players out for the team this year, but 18 of them are brand new,” Brigden said. “In addition, we have only two Grade 12s and two Grade 11s. The rest of the team is Grade 8, 9 and 10s.
“The girls really impressed me — how well they played, given how much time we had to prepare.”
The first 10 minutes of Thursday’s game was very evenly played, as both sides were somewhat tentative and cautious in the early going.
As it was both teams’ opening game of the season, referee Ryan Reid used the early going to do a great deal of teaching with the players. Scrums in the first half were run uncontested — meaning there was no push.
At about the 15-minute mark, the MSS Panthers put together their first significant drive, and were rewarded when veteran forward Kalea Palmer muscled the ball across the end line to give the Panthers a 5-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, rookie Haley Zabek scored the first of her two tries on the day to extend the Merritt lead to 10-0.
Pen High was not about to concede anything, and right off the kickoff, they replied with a try of their own.
Zabek showed her wheels shortly thereafter, scampering 40 metres down the left sideline for Merritt’s third score of the half and their second 10-point lead.
Impressive throughout the opening half was Merritt’s rucking over loose balls, and their aggressive tackling.
With regard to the latter, Brigden said, “When we started practices before spring break, that’s all the girls wanted to do — tackle. They’re so keen on it. What’s funny though is that sometimes our players are running so fast that they blow right by the ball carrier. We’ve had to teach them to slow down as they prepare to make a tackle, and make sure they grab a hold of the girl.”
The hom eside didn’t let up as the second half got underway. Right off the kickoff, several Panther players in a row had touches of the ball as the MSS team rumbled down the field for their fourth and final try of the afternoon. The scorer was Jamie Neill, with a nice assist from Keisha Henry.
The game was called a few minutes further into the second half after the Lakers suffered two injuries — a concussion followed by a leg laceration. Both players required medical assistance.
Another of the highlights of Thursday contest was the play of Grade 8 scrum half Taylor Nicholls. Brigden feels the sky is the limit when it comes to the young Nicholl’s potential.
“We hummed and hawed at the beginning of the season about who we were going to play at the scrum half position,” the coach said. “We’re training both Jamie and Taylor, but Jamie is such a force rucking with the forward pack that we wanted to keep her there.
“Taylor’s field presence is unbelievable,” Brigden added. “She is such a multi-talented athlete, and just seems to know her space. We figure we’ll get her all trained up in Grade 8 and use her there for the next five years.”
Brigden made sure that Nicholls was well supported in her first outing, with Neill close by at the number eight poisition in the scrum, and Henry just outside at fly-half.
The MSS head coach has been impressed with the leadership of her veteran group from day one of training.
“Players like Kalea, Jamie and Keisha all tied out for the regional team in Kamloops last year and made it. They’ve got quite a bit of experience and confidence. They know what it takes.”
Brigden was also pleased with how her girls remained positive throughout the game on Thursday.
“They took constructive criticism well — from the sidelines, and during stoppages in play. They were listening to the feedback, and applying it to the game, which was awesome to see. They worked well together as a team, and were excited for each other.”
The Panthers second game of the season was on Wednesday of this week, at home against Salmon Arm. The score was not available by the time the Herald went to press.
Merritt’s next home game is on April 27, when the Panthers host the Lakers again.
