Rugby is a fast, exciting and physical game. The girls' rugby team at Strathmore High School (SHS) are the South Central Zone Rugby 7s Champions. Not only that, this was the first Rugby 7s championship for the school.

We spoke with SHS Athletic Director Jerry Flaws about the team. He revealed that usually, the school plays in the 15s category, meaning there are 15 players.

“This year we were not able to field enough players to play a full squad game so we made the switch to 7 aside rugby the week before zones,” said Flaws

“Even though they are both rugby games, 7's is a completely different sport. 7 athletes preside on the same size field. It is a super quick game where the quick and nimble excel. Our team adapted well to the new game and continued to learn throughout the zone tournament,” he said.

“We were able to win one and lose one during the round-robin but it was enough to advance us to the final. In the final, they played really as a team defending the ball and capitalized when we had the ball. Bethy Salmon proved elusive in the final game scoring a few times with her speed,” said Flaws.

Normally the team would then advance to a provincial berth, but unfortunately, they could not accept as the provincials would fall on the same weekend as graduation.

The Athletic Director explained that the team will wrap up the season in Banff for a few exhibition matches, “The girls were pretty pumped to have won the zone championship,” he said.

This season seemed chaotic since there were a number of games canceled or added.

Flaws says that “No school knew what their numbers were going to be like coming off the last year where we hadn't played a game.” Next year the school will decide early on between 7s and 15s so the season can run smoothly.