Our own Ryan Erikson

"He's never played rugby before, but he's a real specimen: 6'4, 200 pounds," Smith enthused. "He's a guy to watch in the future. He has the potential to play at a very high level of rugby."

Grade 9/10 high school rugby season underway

Quietly, with little fanfare, a chapter in Esquimalt sports history came to a close.

The Esquimalt high school junior rugby squad took to the fields behind Esquimalt high school Thursday, but did so under the leadership of a new coach.

For the first time in recent memory, coaching guru Pete Rushton didn't call the signals.

Now under the guidance of young teacher Phil Smith, a team largely formed of inexperienced rookies faced their first test - a clash with Claremont - and did well, despite faltering in the dying moments of the game en route to a 19-17 loss.

Smith, a Victoria native, has helped the senior team for the last two years. Now a half-time instructor at the school, he's taken over for Rushton - whose focus is now shifting to the senior squad and his duties at the helm of the James Bay premier team.

It's important that a coach also be a member of the school faculty, Smith explained.

"I get to yell at the kids in the hallway," he quipped. "When you get coaches - community coaches coming in - they don't have the same pull on the kids."

Last year, a lack of interest forced Esquimalt to the sidelines without a team. This year, there's anywhere from 20 to 25 youth interested in playing ("We have some kids that are not sure - it's always a struggle getting the kids out," Smith explained) - but only one has any real experience.

"We're really starting from ground zero," he said. "We have some excellent athletes, but what hurts us is not having a team last year."

The Thursday contest may have created an air of infectious energy that will spread through the school and attract more potential squad members, Smith said.

The one key player emerging in the early going is Grade 10 student, No. 8, Ryan Erikson,

"He's never played rugby before, but he's a real specimen: 6'4, 200 pounds," Smith enthused.
"He's a guy to watch in the future. He has the potential to play at a very high level of rugby."

So great is Smith's early assessment of Erikson that he has already compared the youngster to two more recent icons of Esquimalt high school rugby: Alex and Eugene Lavrinenko, who went on from the Esquimalt Ravens rugby squad to play with team Canada in the under-19 rugby world cup.

Erikson, should he apply himself, may have the talent to make the national team as well, Smith forecast.

"He's probably more a natural athlete than both the Lavrinkenos," he said, with natural instincts that make him a perfect fit for the complex game of rugby.

"I was quite impressed from when I saw him."

As for the season-opener, Smith called the contest a "weird game."

"It was a weird game. It was our first and there's so much luck involved because for much of the game- players are starting to figure it out."

Hence a lot of bobbles, errors and tries that came against the grain of play. Nonetheless, the squad had a chance to win - surrendering a try on the second-last play of the game - and that's all that really matters at this point of the season, Smith said.

"The smiles on the kids' faces afterwards defied the results. They had a great time."

Now comes the arduous task of teaching the youth the skills they need to master the game - a challenge, given the compressed junior rugby season and the varied athletic backgrounds of the team.

"We've got some guys that have played lots of sports before, and those guys are probably easier to work with. They know how to practise, know what the level of commitment is."

That, said Smith, is the next test: with two or three practices per week and one or two games as well, there's a lot demanded of the players committing to the squad.

Nonetheless, Smith said he has the support of parents and the school, plus a love of rugby - a tradition - entwined within the Esquimalt high school identity.

"Peter Rushton has started a rugby tradition at Esquimalt, and we're trying to keep that going."