It’s not the absolute perfect scenario, but the fact contact rugby will resume in Newfoundand and Labrador in these pandemic times has to be seen as a victory for the sport.
“I think ‘delighted’ is probably too casual of a word to use,” said Simon Blanks, who wears many rugby hats, including Newfoundland Rock senior men’s coach, Dogs RFC head coach and Newfoundland and Labrador Rugby Union (NLRU) technical director.
“But yes, we are delighted to be getting back to the pitch.”
The Newfoundland and Labrador Rugby Union announced this week its submission to Public Health Newfoundland and Labrador regarding the resumption of contact rugby has been approved.
The province’s senior men’s teams will play exhibition matches against each other on Oct. 3 for the Collins Cup. The Collins Cup was initially awarded to winners of summer league play prior to the fall league.
On Oct. 10, the Baymen, Dogs, and Swilers senior men's teams will kick off play for the Goodyear Cup, the senior ‘A’ men’s championship.
The NLRU is currently working on a plan for age group play. The Rock’s under-16 and U18 teams will begin practising Oct. 4. Intra-squad games could follow depending on the number of players.
The U19 teams will play for the senior Collins Cup and Goodyear Cup.
Note there is no mention of the Eastern Canadian Super League, which feature the Rock, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Eastern Ontario.
Nova Scotia, according to Blanks, has not been permitted to resume contact rugby, and then, of course, there are the travel restrictions and resulting quarantine.
“Yes, we won’t be playing as much rugby as we would like,” Blanks said.
As a result, some players towards the end of their careers may be hanging up the cleats sooner rather than later.
“We will be losing some players,” said Blanks.
On the other hand, he said, other established veterans have reported they’ve never felt so good as they take the time away from the game to heal nagging injuries.
“So there’s two sides to everything,” Blanks said.
“But we are a minority sport in Canada, so it has set us back, for sure.”
Good news, said Blanks, is the game’s grass roots — age group and senior level domestic rugby — is, “hanging tough” with a solid following. He is curious to see if there will be a high school season this fall.
“We’re waiting for them to come back to us,” he said. “Even if it’s a long weekend tournament, it’s better than nothing.”
Twitter: @telyrobinshort
