The Rock must adjust to a higher level of pressure in the new Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) league if they want to progress and move on, says coach Pat Parfrey.
Coming off a tough 8-7 loss to British Columbia Bears in St. John's, Atlantic Canada's representatives must regroup to take on Ontario Blues Saturday at Fletchers Fields in Markham, Ont.
Parfrey said he was "very disappointed " in the team's one-point loss to the Bears at Swilers Complex last weekend.
"Skill is execution under pressure and we were not optimal for some key skills," the veteran Newfoundland coach said. "This competition has a higher level of pressure compared to the (Rugby Canada) Super League, so we appear less fluid. This can only be resolved by the current players as we do not have a batch of other players to select from."
Still, despite the larger challenge, Parfrey is happy to be involved in higher-level competition.
"Being a participant in the ARC is great for us," he said.
The Rock (1-1) heads into Saturday's game in second place with six points, three less than league-leading B.C. Bears. Prairie Wolf Pack has four points, two more than Ontario. Teams can earn a bonus point by scoring four or more tries in a game or by staying within seven points of the opposition in a loss.
All four teams can still qualify for the Canadian semifinal on October 10. Ontario can qualify if they beat The Rock and the Prairies lose to B.C.
The two Canadian semifinalists will play Oct., 17 in Toronto, with the winner playing the winner of Argentina vs United States. The losers play for the bronze medal.
Ontario Blues (0-2) are coming off a one-point loss of their own, finishing on the wrong end of a 14-13 decision to the Wolf Pack (1-1) last week and now face a similar scenario to The Rock and Wolf Pack. The Prairie reps take on the Bears (2-0) in the other ARC game this weekend.
"We're disappointed that we lost," Blues head coach Les Gilson said on the Rugby Canada website. "But a lot more things are learned from a loss than a win.
"Overall, there's a lot of good things we can take away from that game," Gilson said.
"I think if we can fix the mistakes we'll be just fine (for Saturday).
"We need to take care of our situation and not worry about anyone else's," Gilson said.
"This is a very tough and balanced competition and the teams making the fewer mistakes will be successful."
In the meantime, Parfrey noted Morgan Lovell, Jebb Sinclair and Tyler Wish are nursing injuries, so the startling lineup isn't set in stone.
Rock captain Kevin Parfrey believes his team can rebound.
"The Rock has a tradition of responding strongly to adversity, so I anticipate a great effort on Saturday. Having said that, we expect that Ontario will also be intense and that the physical pressure will be high, especially from their big pack of forwards."
The Rock captain says the players are enjoying the competition in the new league.
"This competition is awesome because each game has been critical and now a playoff berth and the chance to play international teams is on the line."
jbrowne@thetelegram.com
The Rock lineup for the Ontario match:
1. Frank Walsh
2. Owen Parfrey
3. Rod Snow
4. Chris Mooney
5. Brad Lester
6. Jebb Sinclair
7. Chauncey OToole
8. Kevin Parfrey (c)
9. Adam Paul
10. Dean Blanks
11. Geoff Warden
12. Tyler Wish
13. Rob Wilson
14. Simon Pacey
15. Ciaran Hearn
16. Dan King
17. Rob Wright
18. Phil Alcock
19. Simon Pitfield
20. Brent Rowney
21. Mike Rudofsky
22. Jason Picco
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