McElligott returns to pitch as Whiskey Jacks finally play at home

“I got 60 per cent of the game in, and that was enough,” smiled McElligott on the hot, humid Saturday evening. “That was enough for today.”

For the last 12 years, McElligott has been a coach with the Saskatchewan Rivers Dragons high school rugby program. On Saturday, he got to play with some of his former pupils, including the likes of Ashton Milligan and Ryland Gibb who played with the Dragons this past season.

“It was great. I’ve been coaching the high school program for about a dozen years now and I’d say out there today we probably had half the guys come through the high school team,” said McElligott. “That makes it even more fun. The guys that I have coached, some of them I’ve known for a dozen years, and now they’re out here playing with the men. That’s exciting.”

Although he was playing against fellow-high schoolers all season, Milligan was the star for the Whiskey Jacks. In the games’ opening moments while the ‘Jacks defended deep in their own end, Milligan’s eyes lit up when the Oats’ knocked the ball on. Instead of picking the ball up in traffic, Milligan had the frame of mind to kick from the ground, into space and beat everybody to the ball as stormed down the field for a brilliant try.

Late in the game, Milligan cut to the outside of the ruck and chipped the ball over everybody and was tackled mere metres away from the try line. That led to a punch-in try from Whiskey Jack forward Cam McDougall.

“(Milligan) stepped in very well and he provides that spark when we need it,” said Whiskey Jacks coach Dominic Elsbury. “He’s very attacking minded which we really need. For a young man, he’s got a lot of experience compared to the other guys.

“He led the backs very well and when we needed the go-forward, he provided it.”

Those moments of brilliance from Milligan were worth watching the game themselves, but in between them, the Wild Oats dominated the show.

The visitors for Saskatoon scored 36 consecutive points to take the game over. They took a 19-7 lead at the half and piled on three more tries for a 36-15 final.

“Very tough team to start with at home, the Oats are a very experienced side and they brought some very good players,” said Elsbury. “It was a very tough game to start with, but you know what, I thought the boys learned a lot. This is exactly what we needed for our first of four games in 12 days.

“A game like this under these conditions, one of the big things is match fitness. We’re hoping by the time we hit our third or fourth game, our guys will be in a lot better condition than the team we’re playing so we can push the pace and play a faster brand of rugby.”

The Whiskey Jacks came into Saturday’s game with an 0-3 record on the road. They’ll have three more chances to get into the win column at home as they take on three Saskatoon-based sides, the Badgers on Wednesday, the Gophers on Saturday and the Krems the following Thursday to wrap up their homestand.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

by Jeff D'Andrea

McElligott returns to pitch as Whiskey Jacks finally play at home

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