King’s-Edgehill School’s senior boys rugby crew is off to a strong start.
The “A” team is undefeated in league play with five straight wins, 230 points for and only 17 against.
The squad, which finished second in the province last season after a loss to Citadel High School, is stacked with several returning players.
“These guys have played rugby together since they were in the ninth or tenth grade and they’ve stuck together and they’ve worked really, really hard to become the cohesive unit they are,” head coach Jason Verryn-Stuart said.
KES has players who have suited up for Team Mexico, Team Bermuda and Team Canada.
“It’s a very worldly team but when they’re out on the field they’re all a single unit and they all work together really well,” Verryn-Stuart says.
“As long as they remain in good standing academically, then we’re going to be sitting pretty by the end of the season.”
While the “B” team only claimed one victory in four league games as of May 3,Verryn-Stuart says the group is evolving quickly.
“They’re actually turning out to be quite a team. They’ve developed quite a bit since the beginning of the year.”
He says the rookie players headed to Rugby Fest in New Brunswick April 10 to get a feel for the sport on a competitive level.
“At the beginning of the weekend they were a bunch of guys who had never played rugby before but, by the end of it, they came second in their division.”
Verryn-Stuart says the focus for both teams will be to “iron out” small mistakes on the field that can lead to big points for their opponents as the season comes to a close.
Regionals are penciled in for May 22-24. If all goes as planned at qualifiers, KES will be vying for a provincial title from June 1-3.
