PA Saskatchewan Rivers Dragons rookies show promise after one season on the pitch

The Prince Albert Saskatchewan Rivers Dragons finished off their regular season with a 44-0 loss to the Saskatoon Springboks on Thursday night at Max Clunie Field.

The Springboks took control of the match early on, scoring on the first possession of game, and never let up. By the end of the first half, the visitors led the match 26-0. By the final buzzer the score was 44-0. The last time the two teams faced off the Springboks came away with a 29-0 victory.

“They were a great team. Great defence. They just know rugby. They have a good coach. I think we fought well,” said third-year Dragons flanker Jonty Kruger.

“You can’t just give up. You’ve got to keep fighting.”

Dragons coach Paul Roy called the Springboks the “class of the league,” as they include many older players that have been together for a long time. He said some of those athletes also play on the provincial team and have competed in the United States. This year’s Dragons team, on the other hand, features many Grade 9 students who are relatively new to the sport.

“Their game right now is using their experience, and their chronological age but also their rugby IQ, and they create turnovers and they just feed off of that and they counterattack,” Roy said.

“We’ve had teams like that in the past here in PA, but we’re too young to do that right now.”

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