The L.V. Rogers boys rugby team is heading back to the pitch, but their first opponents won’t be any of the usual West Kootenay suspects.
Instead, the Bombers are off to face young players from three of Ireland’s top rugby clubs on their home turf. The team left for the Emerald Isle Wednesday, and will spend 12 days touring, training and playing in the country.
“We were sitting around two years ago when these kids were younger, and we knew they were a really good team, a really close group of kids, and we wanted to give them something special in their Grade 12 year,” says head coach Michael Joyce.
“We’ve got five days of on-field with international coaches, we play three games and then there’s lots of tourist stuff.”
The matches will take the 21 Bombers to Dublin, Galway and Limerick, where they’ll take on the local talent. Unlike Canada, Joyce explains, rugby teams in Ireland are tied to clubs rather than local high schools.
“We play a team that comes from Munster — which is a professional level Irish team — and their club goes all the way from minis up to professional level,” he explains. “So they have developmental levels that go all the way up.”
Though the B.C. high school rugby season begins March 7, Nelson’s weather usually makes it impossible for the club to start its season this early in the year.
“It does give us a little bit of a jump start for sure,” Joyce says.
“And the boys have worked hard over the last couple of years so they deserve this opportunity. It’s something they’ll hold with them for a long time.”
Joyce is also hoping the trip will begin building momentum for another run at the B.C. AA Rugby Championship.
Last year West Kootenay picked up a provincial berth for the first time in more than a decade, sending Joyce’s Bombers on their first provincial outing. While they finished last out of 16 teams, Joyce is looking forward to a much stronger showing this year now that his players have gained more experience competing against strong teams.
“This year is a real opportunity,” he says. “I’m saying top eight and I think that’s really realistic.”
