Dragons surprise themselves with silver in Saskatoon
Heading into the high school rugby season, Saskatchewan Rivers Dragons head coach Justin Derkach figured it would be a rebuilding year of sorts. His main priority was developing his young core of players and teaching the game of rugby.
Instead, Derkach’s Dragons earned themselves a spot at the Rowlands Cup in Saskatoon and finished second in the league. They fell 32-10 to the Martensville Springboks in the finals, a spot Derkach didn’t see his team getting to.
“It was definitely unexpected. We had a young team again this year with a bunch of new guys. Like I said at the beginning of the year, I just wanted the guys to improve as the year progressed and I think we did that,” Derkach said. “The second thing I wanted was results. We didn’t get first place but with the team that we had and the team we were playing again, second place is pretty good for us.”
The Dragons previously beat the Springboks 25-12 just a few days earlier, Thursday at Prime Minsters’ Park but couldn’t duplicate the result at the Rowlands Cup. Derkach said the Dragons were playing a shorthanded Springboks side that day.