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The Saskatchewan Prairie Fire Rugby Football Club is hosting the Nor-Sask Wolverines RFC on Saturday at Regina Rugby Park. The Prairie Rugby Super League match is to begin at 6 p.m. The junior Fire is to play the junior Wolverines at 4 p.m. The Wolverines' players are primarily from Saskatoon and Lloydminster. © Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post ---------- The Regina Prairie Fire defeated the Calgary Mavericks 25-15 in Prairie Rugby Super League action on Friday night at Regina Rugby Park. The Fire took a 15-10 halftime lead but quickly saw the Mavericks tie the game three minutes into the second period. Scorers for the Fire were Caine Elisara (2 tries), Drew Kendel (1 try), Peni Lutu (1 try), and Tryan Sapergia (1 penalty kick, 1 try conversion). The Prairie Fire's next game is July 11 at Regina Rugby Park. © Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post ---------- The Prairie Fire is opposing the Calgary Mavericks and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in its regular-season home opener. After beginning the Prairie Rugby Super League season with back-to-back losses on the road, the Fire is preparing for tonight's 6 o'clock date at Regina Rugby Park. There is only one snag: The Roughriders' home opener kicks off an hour later. "I've been a season-ticket holder for about 20 years,'' Fire player-coach Jered Kirkland said Thursday. "We close down our store (Globe Fabrics) early due to Rider games. Sometimes we'll put a sign on the door saying, 'Closed due to Riders. Call the Rider office to complain.' '' The scheduling conflict with the Roughriders/B.C. Lions game was unavoidable because the Fire had to work around the Mavericks' availability. "I might make the second half of the Rider game, but I doubt it,'' Kirkland said. "That would probably be pushing it. I'll likely have to take this one and pass on it. It's unfortunate, but it has to be. "I'm not even going to TiVo it. If it's not live, I won't pay attention to it.'' Kirkland would prefer to be involved in the live combat against the Mavericks, but that won't happen, either. He is to sit out tonight's match with knee and shoulder injuries. "It's a little bittersweet,'' he said. "I've caught the injury bug. It's very frustrating when I'm not able to go out on the field and represent the team. I'm involved with every single thing that happens with the team. The game is supposed to be the icing on the cake and it's not going to happen.'' Each PRSL team plays four regular-season games -- a home-and-home set with both divisional rivals. The Fire's final game is July 11, 4 p.m., against the Saskatoon Wolverines. The Fire was a charter member of the Rugby Canada Super League until it disbanded after 11 seasons. For this season, four regions were created -- B.C., the Prairies, Ontario and the Maritimes. As a precursor to tonight's match, the junior Fire and junior Mavericks are to collide, beginning at 4 p.m. "Everyone has a comfort level playing at home,'' Kirkland said. "A lot of the veteran players have played so many games in Calgary that they don't like the bus trips, myself included. "Here, we've got our own clubhouse and our own room. There's more familiarity with everyone at home and we're looking forward to it.'' © Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post ---------- They call themselves the Wolverines. They wear blue and black. Blue for northern Saskatchewan's lakes and black for its oil and gas, but the colours might better represent their style of play. It's Saskatchewan's newest elite rugby club and, on Saturday afternoon, the team stepped out on to the Saskatoon field with one goal in mind: To prove itself against Saskatchewan's most established rugby club and former national champions, the Prairie Fire. Before the game, organizer Lindsay Ryall described what success might look like in its inaugural season. "Our goal is really to be competitive," Ryall said as the Wolverines took the field. "If everybody plays well, we may get a win or two, but if we finish the season and we're competitive, we're happy." Coach Dean Murton had other ideas: "Lindsay says competitive. We go out to win." He wasn't kidding. In their first ever home game, the Wolverines upset the Prairie Fire in a come-from-behind 24-19 victory. After struggling to a 19-5 deficit at halftime, the Saskatoon team found its offensive game in the second half, scoring three tries and keeping the Fire off the board. "We weren't surprised at all," Murton said of the win. "The first half, we were making silly errors and the guys were a little over-enthusiastic. Then we calmed things down and showed what we're made of. We've set the tone for years to come." Though there is a natural rivalry between the north and south teams, the Prairie Fire have been very supportive of the new team. The post-game congratulations between Prairie Fire and Wolverine players told the whole story. "We're going to grow to hate them," said Ryall. "But right now, it's more a friendly than a heated rivalry. I can't say enough about their help." Ryall -- president of the Lloydminister Reapers, an elite-level rugby team -- spearheaded the new club after a change in national structure allowed for two western teams. Saskatchewan started a new program to develop and send more elite players to the western Canadian team. The Wolverines are employing only Saskatchewan players in their first year. Among them is captain Cory Trann. The Prince Albert Collegiate teacher and coach has played with the Wild Oats (a Saskatoon rugby club team), the Prairie Fire and minor-pro teams in England, but said this victory had special resonance. "It was really nice to have a good hard game and show them up," he says. "We have a lot of pride in winning." Citing overconfidence as a factor in the defeat, Prairie Fire prop hooker Emil Christensen hoped this experience would light a fire under his team. "Those guys are ex-Prairie Fire," Christensen said. "You always play harder against your family. I think you'll see a different team next time we play. "I was impressed," he said when asked what he really thought of his competition. "They came. They showed what they got. They didn't quit. I was impressed." The under-20 Wolverines also won their first game against the U20 Prairie Fire, 60-24. The junior and senior teams meet again July 11 in Regina. © Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post ---------- The Prairie Fire dropped a pair of games to the host Calgary Mavericks in Prairie Rugby Super League action on the weekend. The Fire senior team lost 23-11, with Jered Kirkland hitting two penalty kicks and Beau Chapman recording a try. The Fire junior side lost 42-3 to the Mavericks. Chris Young accounted for all three points on a penalty kick. © Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post ---------- Jered Kirkland's first weekend as the player-coach of the Prairie Fire couldn't be more hectic. Kirkland, who was introduced to the media on Tuesday, is in Edmonton from Friday through Sunday for the Canadian senior men's team handball championships. On Monday, he travels to Calgary for the Fire's regular season-opener of the Prairie Rugby Super League against the host Mavericks. "It's not great timing in that sense,'' Kirkland said. "Everything has been going pretty well up to this point. Then there is the Thursday practice before the game and I have to be in Edmonton. That's an important one but Dick Cornish (the Fire's director of rugby) is also the assistant coach and he'll be able to look after things.'' Adapting to those changes seem minor compared to what has transpired over the winter. The Rugby Canada Super League, of which the Fire is a charter member, ended after 11 seasons. The league's demise led to the creation of four regions across Canada — B.C., the Prairies, Ontario and the Maritimes. The PRSL features the Fire, Mavericks and Saskatoon Wolverines. Each team will play four games. There won't be a national championship game but there is a new competition called the American Rugby Cup (ARC). The Cup is made up of two teams from Eastern and Western Canada, two from the United States and two from Argentina. Players for the Canadian sides will be selected from those playing in the regional leagues. The ARC is to be held in November. Dave Kot, president of the Fire, said there is a one-year break from a national championship while the ARC is established. "This is a necessary transition for us to work in the new process,'' said Kott. "It actually gives us a chance to build our home base, which is something we haven't had a chance to do.'' That includes promoting Kirkland, who is the first local product to serve as the Fire's head coach. Kirkland is a graduate of the Prairie Junior Fire program and has played prop, flanker and centre and will serve as standoff when the season starts. Kirkland takes over from Caine Elisara, who was the Fire's head coach for two seasons. "Coaching comes naturally for me,'' said Kirkland. "Last year, Caine got here a week before our first game and we struggled. I wasn't the coach but I was still running practices. I didn't have a long-term plan of what we were trying to accomplish. Now, I've known for a couple of months and it has been a natural progression.'' The Fire plays host to the Edmonton Gold in an exhibition game on May 30. It travels to Saskatoon on June 19. The Mavericks are in Regina on July 3 and the Fire plays host to the Wolverines on July 11. The Junior Fire also plays the same schedule. All of the Fire home games are at Regina Rugby Park. © Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post |
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