Canucks Thirsty Thirds clinch Calgary City Championship

Calgary Canucks (Div 3) celebrate their win in the City Final over Calgary Rams at Calgary Rugby Union on August 24, 2019. © J. Ashley Nixon

In a closely contested game, Calgary Canucks won the Calgary City Championship (Div. 3) against Calgary Rams by a score of 22-12.

The Canucks Thirsty Thirds took an early lead after a play down the right-wing by Number 8 Graham Dewar. He was held up close to the line by the Rams scrum-half, Amir Nikraven but the Canucks forwards came in quickly to support, pick up and go over.  The conversion missed. The Rams equalized after 20 minutes and could have taken the lead if the ball had bounced the right way off the crossbar in the conversion kick. It didn’t.

Dads Army push

The score stayed at 5-5 until right up to the half time buzzer. The Canucks were awarded a penalty underneath the posts and elected to take a scrum. Dad´s Army got a right old push going then set up a back row play for the forwards to crash over. With a simple kick, it was 12-5 to the Canucks; time out of the trenches and a slice of orange for the lads.

Ten minutes into the second half, the Canucks were penalized. The Rams forwards took a quick tap penalty and went over to the left of the posts. With their conversion, the game was tied at 12-12.

After 23 minutes, the Rams stole the lineout ball at their own 5m mark and avoided a likely try. Then, moments later, they took possession from their own put in at the scrum. The backs moved the ball out left only to find a crafty Canuck ready and poised to make a strong tackle on the Rams centre. It was a real cruncher giving possession back to the Canucks who spun the ball out right for Matt Duguid to score a flyer in the corner. The conversion kick was wide but the Canucks had a five-point lead, 17-12.

Pint-sized, treasured prize

The Canucks kept pressing. With five minutes remaining, scrum-half and captain, Dave Danchuk took the ball behind their scrum and popped the ball up for Graham Dewar to drive hard and down through the Rams defence to the right of the posts. The conversion didn’t make it over the bar but the Canucks stayed camped out close to the Rams line for the closing minutes to win 22-12.

The prize, a pint-sized but highly treasured Bill Thompson-Harvey Jaanusen Memorial Cup, was awarded to the team by the Canucks own Cowboy, Colin Ogilvy. The prospect of an Alberta final against a yet to be decided Edmonton team awaits the Thirsty Army on September 28.

More photographs

Please visit J. Ashley Nixon Photography for more photographs from the City final.