PIRATE WOMEN'S

RUGBY

2008 ROPSSAA

CHAMPIONS

PIRATE RUGBY

UNITED KINGDOM TOUR 2007

Over the March Break, 22 members of the Varsity Girls Rugby Team traveled to the birthplace of our sport – the United Kingdom. The Lady Pirates competed against various schools and clubs in both England and Wales. The team had been training since September to prepare for the tour and the countless hours of preparation paid off. Our first stop was the town of Rickmansworth, a 30 minute tube ride from central London. It seemed as though our very gracious hosts underestimated the quality of Canadian Women’s Rugby. Pocock dominated the opening match of the tour both by their very physical play as well the points put up on the score board. At the final whistle, the result was Pocock - 65, Rickmansworth School - 0.

After Leaving London we traveled to the ancient resort town of Bath. Bath would be our base for the next few days. Our next match was against a very strong club side from the town of Worcester. Worcester WRFC was a very experienced and well prepared club and went on to beat Pocock 25 – 0. Despite the loss our ladies were in good spirits and were complemented on their excellent physical and technical play.

The last stop on the tour was to the Welsh capital of Cardiff. Our final game against Caerphilly WRFC proved to be a very difficult match. Our girls were suffering through several injuries and fatigue, this being their third match in seven days. Despite these obstacles, our Pirates finished on top, shutting out Caerphilly 22-0. Once again our opponents were very impressed with the quality of Canadian Rugby.

When all was said and done Pocock won two out of three games outscoring their opponents 87-25. Congratulations to our Pirate Rugby Team for representing our school, city, province and country with pride and class.

Members of the UK Touring Squad were: Shannon Kehoe, Amanda Trigiani, Lisa Shaheen, Stephanie Harrison, Natalie Skrinjar, Brooke Padanyi, Jordie DeBrincat, Cassy Almeida, Venetia Kidd, Stephanie Turenko, Katie Kolenko, Victoria Boltsis, Shari Stefaniuk, Amy Stefaniuk, Alexandra Kuznowicz, Maguy Jbelli, Katie Teixeira, Phebe Yongao, Irena Doubelt, Jennifer Gilroy, Marianne Skrinjar and Sabrina Chabot. The Team is coached by Mr. Radic and Mr. Piemontese. The team would also like to acknowledge and thank Ms. Finelli for her support in organizing and supervising the tour as well as the group of parents who traveled to the UK to cheer our Pirates on!

A special thanks to all members of the Rugby program here at Pocock who were unable to make the trip. They have been training along side the touring squad since September and made sure they were well prepared for the tour. All members of the Rugby team greatly contributed to the success of the 2007 United Kingdom Tour. The success of the tour is a reflection of the commitment, dedication, sacrifice and teamwork displayed by each and every member of the rugby family at Pocock. Good Luck on the upcoming season ladies and stay tuned for the next Pocock Rugby Tour in 2009.