Prince Albert athlete to make national debut at U18 Canadian Rugby Championship

When Jesse Mourot began his high school career he was “pretty small” and “not very athletic.” He decided to try out for the Prince Albert Saskatchewan Rivers Dragons, the high school rugby team that competes in the North Saskatchewan Junior Rugby League, and discovered a sport he wanted to “sink some time into.”

“Over the years I built myself to be a better rugby player and, with the help of those coaches, took my game to the next level,” Mourot said four years later, now a graduate of the Dragons program.

Mourot recently received word that he will be getting the chance to compete at his highest level yet when he suits up with the U18 Prairie Blizzard, the team that will represent Manitoba and Saskatchewan at the 2017 Canadian Rugby Championship in Calgary from Aug. 14 to 20. Mourot was named to the team following his performance at the Prairie Showcase in Regina on July 15 and 16, which saw teams representing Manitoba and Saskatchewan face off with Blizzard roster spots on the line.

“I knew the competition was tough after playing the tournament in Regina, playing against the guys from Manitoba and playing with some of the Regina guys I knew that I was in a pretty good fight for a spot on that team. Seeing that I made it was just a big relief and a boost (in) confidence,” Mourot said.

“Manitoba’s always been a pretty tough team, so I knew it was going to be a pretty physical fight going out there and if I wanted to be a physical force out there and be noticed I was going to bring my top game and be able to take a hit and give a pretty hard hit. And it was a very hot weekend so I knew I was going to have to push through some heat and some tiredness.”

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