Rugby takes central stage this weekend as the Sherbrooke Abenakis go for double gold in the provincial Division 2 A and B championships in Ste. Julie, while the Sherbrooke Vert & Or will travel to Lennoxville Sunday to take on the Bishop’s Gaiters in a university contest.
An oddity that is reality with Sherbrooke rugby is that many of the Abenakis teammates vying for titles on Saturday will be on opposite sides of the ball Sunday.
“I told all the university players that I would limit their minutes on Saturday and they all told me the same thing, ‘don’t do it coach,’” Abenakis A coach Charles Goode said.
Goode, who also coaches the Bishop’s squad added, We will have 22 guys dressed for both games and obviously everyone will play. I told everyone to concentrate on Saturday and not think about the game on Sunday.”
Both Abenakis’ men’s teams are undefeated in league play and are looking to finish an excellent season with a provincial title and an opportunity to move from Division 2 to Division 1.
Action gets underway at 10:30 when the B team plays the St. Lambert Locks while the A tem will meet the Montreal Rugby Club at 12:30 o,n,. Both games will be played at the Montreal Irish Rugby Club Field located at 707 Rang de la Vallée in Sainte-Julie.
Goode stressed that both teams need to get off to quick starts on Saturday.
“We didn’t play well in the first half in our semi-final game,” he said. “We were played loosely and were probably a little over confident. I read the riot act to them at halftime and they responded.”
Goode added that Josh Quirion is suffering from an ankle injury and is questionable for the title game.
Sherbrooke scored at the end of the first half to take a 13-3 lead and then dominated the second half en route to a 58-3 victory.
Sunday’s university game, slated for a 1 p.m. start on Coulter Field, will feature two teams looking for their first win. Sherbrooke opened their 2015 season with a 19-5 home loss to McGill while Bishop’s dropped a 20-13 decision to Concordia in Montreal.
