Competitive rugby has finally made its way to Howe Sound Secondary School (HSSS) and the Sounders are gearing up to hit the field in the coming weeks.
Team manager Sheilagh Lepine said strong interest from the students helped the team come together.
"My daughter [Sarah Lepine] played rugby at Whistler Secondary last year and a bunch of the guys from the football team came out to watch their games," she said. "Quite a bunch of kids would come out and they expressed interest in wanting to play. We figured there's enough interest and thought we could start a team at HSSS."
Lepine scheduled open indoor practices in February to gauge interest and the feedback she received from students was overwhelmingly positive.
"We had 48 kids sign up initially," she said. "And right now we've got about 25 kids who consistently show. It's really been all about the kids. We've actually had a lot of kids who've never played school sports before and only three players who have ever played rugby before."
The club is made up of Grade 10 to 12 students and is coached by Lepine's sons, Robert and Jacob Lepine.
"We couldn't find a local coach but a couple of my older sons said they would step forward," she said. "Our eventual hope is to find another coach. My sons are able to commit this year and probably next year but long term we need more stable coaching."
Both sons play university-level rugby, with Jacob on the UBC team and Robert on the Simon Fraser squad.
"Our hope is for this to continue and for Howe Sound to have a permanent rugby team moving forward," she said. "We have uniforms, balls and equipment and rugby is such a great sport. HSSS doesn't have a lot of sports going on in the spring and it's a really inclusive sport. Any kid of any size can play just like football, but you don't need to learn all the plays like you do in football."
The Sounders will play in a Tier 2 league, with matches in April and May. They'll be playing against other high schools in the Lower Mainland and plan to schedule several exhibition games.
In other rugby news, the Sea to Sky Eagles Rugby League Football Club held its first practice at Quest University field on March 25. Eight players, mostly from Squamish, hit the field and head coach Ally Mac said he was pleased with the turnout.
"We've got some pretty good athletes here and guys who know rugby union pretty well," he said.
Mac said the next step for the team is familiarizing players with the slightly different rules in rugby league before the season, which starts in May. The Eagles will play in the B.C. division of the Canadian Rugby League against teams in Vancouver, the Okanagan and potentially Vancouver Island.
Mac said the team is still looking for more players. Those interested can contact him via email at [email protected].
