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Tory Heseltine (left), Kimm Carrière, Victoria Smith and Caroline Suchorski. Photo courtesy of Deborah Carrière
Upstart Ste. Anne’s rugby program already producing winners
John Meagher
The Gazette
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tory Heseltine (left), Kimm Carrière, Victoria Smith and Caroline Suchorski. Photo courtesy of Deborah Carrière
The junior women’s program at the Ste. Anne de Bellevue Rugby Football Club is in its first year of operation, but is already paying dividends at the provincial level.
Four players from Ste. Anne’s were members of the provincial team that captured the gold medal at the recent under-17 Eastern Canadian rugby championships in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
The Quebec Caribou side – featuring the Ste. Anne’s quartet of Kimm Carrière and Caroline Suchorski from Beaconsfield, and Tory Heseltine and Victoria Smith from Senneville, defeated Nova Scotia 14-3 in the Eastern finals.
It marked the second gold medal at the Eastern finals for Smith, a second-year flanker with the Quebec U-17s.
It was an encouraging result for Ste. Anne’s coach Lee Bieber, who came out of retirement this year to form a new junior women’s program for 13 to 17-year-olds after Rugby Quebec passed a rule that restricts senior rugby to players 18 and older.
Bieber said having four players on a champion provincial team is a feather in the cap of the entire Ste. Anne’s club.
Another storyline involves
16-year-old Kimberly Carrière, Kimm to her teammates.
Carrière was an accomplished Lakeshore intercity soccer player, but has fallen in love with rugby after giving the sport a try five months ago. In that short span, she has made the transition from newcomer to provincial-team member.
“Kimm’s done amazing,” Bieber said. “I’ve known her since she was a little girl. She’s a really good soccer player. And she decided this year to play rugby. She went in for a couple of indoor rugby practices with the Ste. Anne’s senior women because she wanted to get some experience under her belt before she went to play for her high school (Beaconsfield High).”
“I’m pretty much hooked on rugby now,” said Carrière, a brown belt in karate who is not intimidated by the rough stuff on the pitch.
“I like the contact of rugby ... karate prepared me well,” said Carrière, who plays centre for Ste. Anne’s, but was used as a fullback for the provincial team.
Bieber said Carrière’s soccer experience helped her adapt to rugby.
“Soccer is a really good training for rugby because kids start playing soccer when they’re young, and they develop very good spatial awareness on the field.”
Being athletic and agile doesn’t hurt, either.
“You take someone from soccer, who’s got the speed and agility and awareness on the field. Combine that with the contact of karate, so she’s got that natural body position and strength combination. Throw her into rugby and you’re dealing with a beast.”
Bieber, who has coached provincial teams before, said Eastern Canadians offers a good test.
“I think the Eastern provinces are a good test for a brand, spanking new Quebec team. When they get older, they’ll play the big provinces like B.C. and Ontario. But this a good introduction to competitive rugby.”
jmeagher@thegazette.canwest.com