Norfolk Harvesters ‘first team’ wins Men’s A

Chris Abbott

Editor

Norfolk Harvesters triumphed 38-12 Saturday in the NRU Men’s A Division Championship.

The Harvesters’ First Team dominated the Stratford Blackswans at the start and finished strong to win the league trophy on home turf at Waterford District High School.

“First time winning the A Division,” said Harvesters vice captain Tyler Lane as the Norfolk Harvesters Second Team was warming up for their championship game in a Stratford double-header. “This was our final game of the season, so we put everything on the line today.

“We did beat them (Stratford) last time,” said Lane, recalling an earlier NRU season match. “It was a rocky start, but the boys came together, figured out what we were doing, and we just carried that on to this game, steady all the way through.

“This game, we emphasized ‘let’s come out hot, let’s come out strong.’ It got a little rocky towards the middle of the game, but we kept our mentality the same and we fought back, and finished off strong.”

The Harvesters First Team, who only lost once this year to Sarnia in the season opener, likes to play fast and they like to play heavy, said Lane.

“We use our forwards a lot. Just play quick, that’s our game, and finish on the edges.”

Size-wise, both teams had some (very) big players, but the Harvesters’ speed was the difference.

“Everyone has their drawbacks, everyone has their benefits. There’s a place for everybody, every size on the field.”

Eligible to compete for promotion, the Harvesters opted to stay in Men’s A.

“We’re going to stay in the A for a little bit, see where the team can go before moving up. This is ‘top of the league’ right now for us and this is where we want to stay. Being a small town, trying to keep our two (men’s) teams going, keep them strong, keep them happy - that’s our main goal.

“We came second last year – we only lost to one team all year. So this year, we knew what we wanted. This was our target all season. It was within sight from Day 1.”

Lane said the Harvesters club also had high hopes for the Second Team in their championship game Saturday afternoon.

“We believe they can do it, through and through. The expectation all week was two championships, and walking home. This was our first opportunity to do it at home for a very long time, so we were happy to do it.” The Men’s A championship should help build the program, said Lane.

“The younger guys that were coming in this year, they don’t know the battles that we’ve gone through the last few years that I’ve been here. We’ve been growing ever since. They got to see some really good rugby, they got to see how it’s played and what structure we want to play.”

Following the Second Team championship game, the Harvesters were planning to ‘celebrate the season’ in Waterford, hosting a social with the Stratford team.

Interested in playing next summer? Contact the Norfolk Harvesters through their website or Facebook page for more information.

“Surprisingly a lot of new guys come in not playing much ‘footy.’ We have a good number of guys that come out here, no experience. They just hear of the club and say ‘let me give it a shot.’”