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Cariboo rugby players join forces

Tracey, Heales mix it up with Williams Lake to host English team
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Ian Heales of 100 Mile House tackled a player from Merchant Taylors' School from England during an exhibition game in Williams Lake

Two 100 Mile House students joined Williams Lake rugby clubs for recent exhibition games against a very talented and technically sound English touring team.

Ian Heales and Richard Tracey played with the Lake City Falcons and Williams Lake Junior Rustlers during friendly matches against 44 English high school players from Merchant Taylors' School, located in Crosby, England, while on a trip to British Columbia on July 15.

The English put on a proper display of football, running up the score on their Canadian hosts, but Heales and Tracey say it was a good learning experience and a lot of fun, regardless.

The boys practiced with the Williams Lake squad for only about a week or two heading into the exhibitions. There's a bit of a rivalry between the two small South Cariboo communities since the local boys so often line up on opposite sides of the ball. But players from Williams Lake and 100 Mile have been thrown together on regional teams in the past, and it was great playing together again even though they were outmatched by the English blokes, the local boys explain.

“[Merchant Taylors' School] had definitely trained a lot more,” explains Tracey. “I don't think they were bigger, stronger and faster. I think they were more organized. They had better positioning. They beat us on a technical front. We were matching them physically.”

Heales says the experience was an eye-opener, and the Williams Lake game-plan was to keep it simple.

“We didn't want to get too fancy [because] we had only practiced as a full team for a week,” he says.

“I just wish we had a team that was better put together so we could challenge them more. We did score, but it was more of a fluke at the end.”

Heales is moving into Grade 12 at Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School in the fall. He's been playing rugby for two years. He says he hopes there's enough of a turnout next season to field a full 15 player senior boys team, which played seven per side last season.

Tracey graduated from PSO this year. He hopes to keep playing rugby in a recreational capacity in the future. He likes the game because it's both mental and physical.

“You have to think and be fast on your feet,” he says. “I think rugby has been a big thing in 100 Mile for quite a while, but it would be nice to see more people out supporting it. The support from the community is nice, but a little more would be welcomed as well.”